Indiana Jones and the Book of Eternal Life
by twoofakind
Summary: MUTT-TASTIC.Dr.Benton accidentally stumbled across the secret to immortality and wrote his discoveries in a hidden journal. When his daughter and Shorty are taken prisoner it's up to Indy and Mutt to find them and the book be4 it falls into the wrong hand
1. Chapter 1

It was a gorgeous car. A Candy Apple Red, two-door, hard top, '54 Skyliner. Susanne Benton wiped more grease onto her old pair of overalls before tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and going back to reassembling the engine. Just as she was re-attaching the cover, she heard something clatter upstairs. She stood up, stretching, looking curiously up the stairs, "I thought you were getting groceries." She called, quickly finishing up and hiding her tools, hoping that her voice didn't give away her guilt. Her grandmother hated when she 'fiddled' with cars. It wasn't ladylike. She paused, frowning when no one answered, "…Nana?" She listened carefully, and knew for sure that she heard voices upstairs. Male voices.

She silently grabbed the largest wrench she had, held it up like a baseball bat, gulped, then made her way up the stairs to the house, careful to avoid the steps the she knew would creak. All the while, she wondered if maybe Nana had forgotten to turn off the TV. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Why would anyone want to break in here? It wasn't the nicest place by far, so it just wouldn't make sense. It must just be the TV. Nana was becoming a tad senile –

Damn. She had reached the top of the stairs. All that stood between her and whoever was up there - slash the TV - was a door. A very thin door, now that she thought about it…

"This is ridiculous." She hissed to herself, forcing her hand to grab the handle and turn it. There was no harm in doing so very slowly so as not to make any noise. She peeked through first and, upon seeing no one, opened it just wide enough for her to slip through, wrench held at the ready. She backed up towards the back door, keeping her eyes on the front door and the living room. There were definitely voices. Not the TV. She could hear footsteps as well. And the men were speaking a different language. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought they were speaking –

"German?" She muttered, frowning. She quickened her pace, putting her hand out behind her, grasping for the door handle. Her hand made contact with something soft. She froze, her eyes wide. She swallowed once, before turning to look over her shoulder at who ever she had run into.

He was a very large man. At least a foot taller than she was with a very large build and a very large, set jaw below narrowed blue eyes and close-cropped blonde hair. Susanne screamed at the top of her lungs and swung at his head with her wrench. While he clutched at the side of his head in pain, she scooted around him, ripped the door open and ran as fast as she could through the yard. She struggled for a moment with the gate, cursing all the while (another unladylike habit that Nana would disapprove of). Cackling with triumph, she finally yanked the gate open, slamming it shut in the faces of 2 more men before taking off through the back lane and skidding out into the street, earning her multiple angry honks from some pissed off drivers. This was one occasion where she was glad she lived in the middle of the city. She ran across the street, heading for the university. She could hear the men behind her, yelling for her to stop. It only made her run faster. She spotted a motorcycle idling in front of the main entrance, a man who appeared to be the owner of the bike was pacing back and forth, obviously waiting for someone.

"Do you work here?"

She froze, even in her panic, "Excuse me?"

The man on the stairs gestured at her dirty pants, "You gotta be a janitor or something –"

Susanne laughed, almost in hysterics. She didn't have time to set the guy straight, "Is this your bike?"

He grinned proudly, straightening up, "Yeah."

Susanne nodded thoughtfully, looking down at the bike and glancing over her shoulder. The men were running up the walkway. She decided not to waste the opportunity. Plus, she was still kind of bitter about the janitor comment. Hell hath no fury, and this was a really bad time. She leapt onto the bike.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" She heard the man yell as she peeled down the walkway towards the men, laughing as they dove out of the way.

She almost felt bad for taking the bike…but her remorse was quickly pushed into the back of her mind as two car loads of the German men from her home swerved out into the street behind her.

"Jesus, how many are there?" She sped up, hoping to God no one got in her way. She didn't really drive motorcycles much, so she kind of had no clue what she was doing. A young girl ran out into her path, completely oblivious to the fact that there was a gang of angry German men chasing her down. Susanne shrieked, swerving to avoid the girl, then screamed as she had to swerve again to avoid running over a young Asian man and, in doing so, crashing into a fruit stand.

"Are you alright?!" The guy she nearly hit helped her to her feet, then looked at the bike, "…That looks just like –"

"Yeah, great. Fine." Susanne struggled with the bike, looking around nervously.

He noticed her anxiety, "Are you sure your o-"

Susanne groaned. The men had caught up with her, and one had a gun pointed at the pair. "Shit."

The young man looked at her, surprised.

The large blonde man that she had hit with her wrench stepped through the others, his head was bleeding from where she had hit him, "You come with us." He looked over at the innocent man that Susanne had doomed by nearly running him over, "You, too."

"But he's not-"

The blonde man shot her the mother of all glares before turning to march away towards the cars, "Metzger, Reinigen Sie das! Fleischer, befassen Sie sich mit ihnen, und bringen Sie das Rad ebenso. (1)" He ordered. Susanne didn't understand a word of what he said. Though, judging by the men approaching them with far from friendly faces, it wasn't anything good.

She glanced over at the young man, meaning to apologize, but as she opened her mouth to speak, a white cloth was shoved into her face, covering her mouth and nose. Susanne struggled for a moment, the strong chemical smell drifting through her senses, until her eyes started to feel heavier and her head lighter. She caught a glimpse of the man she had dragged into this and saw that he was in a similar situation before her eyes drifted shut completely and her mind blanked.

Indiana Jones and Mutt Williams peered out through the front windshield, careful to stay hidden while they watched a group of tense men load Shorty and an unfamiliar girl into a black vehicle.

Mutt pointed, "That's the girl," His gaze shifted, and his eyes widened, "Those bastards are taking my bike! We gotta go!" He grabbed the door handle and started climbing out.

Indy grabbed the back of his leather coat and yanked him back down into the seat, "Sit down, will ya?! Jesus." He shook his head.

"We're not going after them?!"

Indy rubbed his temples, "Patience, kid."

Mutt muttered a couple curses under his breath, shaking his head. "Unbelievable."

"Give it a rest. You'll get your bike back."

"Damn right I will." Mutt sat back and waited, drumming on the armrest impatiently all the while.

**Reviews are love. I'm really nervous about writing and Indy fic, what with the movies being classics and all. But, I'm hoping, since its KOTCS based, it won't be too too risky...Encouragement would be awesome lol. How's my OC? She okay so far? not too annoying/Mary Sue?  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay. I know most people don't read these but I have to thank you guys for the awesome reception of this story! :D I'll work on my OC, since she's getting mixed reviews and I _really_ regret having that scene with her and the car. (shakes fist at co-writer whose idea it was) lmao. Thank's to all who favorited, reviewed, and added this to their story alert list! that means a lot, and I like the encouragement when I write. I'm very emotional about my stories and if I dont think people are reading or enjoying it, I tend to just...fade out and stop updating (yes. that was a threat.) So, please, keep it up! :D Sorry about the delay, i have been out of town every weekend for the past 4 weekends, then working in between, then trying to work things out with my tattoo artist and what not...busy busy. lol BUT! in the time i've had to wait, i've got some great little scenes planned out. ;)**

**I dunno bout you, but I'm already getting impatient. I wanna get to the good stuff. So, hopefully, this can shove it along a bit...haha**

Susanne blinked, willing the room around her to stop spinning and her head to stop pounding. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, groaning. _At least there isn't much light..._She thought.

"The headache goes away after a while."

Susanne opened one eye, scanning the room for whoever had spoken. Then she remembered the man she had almost run over and unintentionally dragged into this whole mess - that she still didn't understand, "Oh." She muttered lamely. "I should apologize. For almost killing you, then getting you into this..."

He shrugged, smiling at her, "'S'okay."

Susanne sat up, "Ow." she muttered, rubbing her temple. She forced a smile, "I'm Susanne."

He reached to shake her hand, "Short Round. Shorty."

"Your-" She stopped herself. It wouldn't be very nice of her to point of how strange his name was, especially for someone his height. He probably was already aware of that. "Never mind." She glanced around, "You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?" Though, why anyone would recognize their steel prison, she would never understand. It would probably make her even less comfortable if he was familiar with it.

He shook his head, "Nah. This one's new."

Susanne stared at him with wide eyes, waiting for the punch line. When it didn't come, she prompted him, "..._This_ _one_?"

He beamed, "Oh yeah. I used to get into this stuff all the time with Dr. Jones."

"I'm not going to ask, if that's alright with you."

"Oh sure. I'm not sure what _this_ is about, though. It's been a while since we've had any issues with Germans..."

She nodded slowly, "Riiight." Reality was quickly starting to set in, and Susanne could feel her hands starting to shake. It was a horrible trait she had inherited from her mother. Soon, her entire body would be shaking. Nothing super obvious, just noticeable when she was holding something or trying to hold her hands out straight. She could easily play it cool.

He must have realized that she wasn't in her element like he was, "Don't worry, though. I'm sure Dr. Jones will find us. He always does."

She nodded, grateful for his efforts to comfort her, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The door with the only window into the room swung open. Susanne jumped, now shaking all over and only a _tad_ jumpy.

"You're to come with me." The German man lifted two ropes, gesturing for them to hold out their hands. Susanne complied, Shorty was much less eager. His eyes skitted around - looking for a way out, maybe - before he reluctantly did the same. He led them down a dimly lit, dusty hall. Shorty kept glancing around every corner and examining the place. He was a strange man, Susanne had concluded, but he was her only company for the time being, and he seemed friendly enough. She could deal with strange. Maybe his strange awareness would help them later on. She smiled when he caught her eye. He winked. Susanne squeaked when she almost ran square into a wall that seemingly had materialized in front of her. The German man grabbed her by the back of the neck and directed her left, down a new corridor. She winced at his tight grip and was thankful when he let go. If her hands hadn't been tied in front of her, she would have rubbed the spot.

"You okay?" Shorty muttered genuinely once they continued forward.

"Fine, thanks." Susanne breathed, lying through her teeth. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice. He was starting to grow on her.

"No talking!" The Man barked, and she instantly fell silent, willing her hands to stop shaking. It was embarrassing. Shorty, on the other hand, spat in the general direction of the man. Susanne's mouth fell open. The German stopped as if to put Short Round in his place, but, with tight fists, he took a deep breath and continued forward, quickening his pace.

Susanne glared over at Shorty. Nice or not, what he had just done was _very_ stupid. They were unarmed and bound. It could have ended extremely bad. She didn't say a word for the rest of their journey. Luckily, neither did he.

After a couple more minutes of walking, the man stopped abruptly and held open a door to their right, "Here." He snapped.

Susanne stepped inside with Shorty close behind her. The first thing her eyes settled on was that same damned blond man from her house. Of course, she _had_ to hit someone important. He sad in a metal chair behind a long steel table that shone surprisingly brightly despite the dust and dirt that filled the rest of the place. To men, also quite large, flanked him. They stood at attention, staring straight ahead blankly. It only contributed to her already frazzled nerves. Blondie gestured at two seats at the table, both across from where he sat. Susanne didn't budge. She was certain that she didn't want to be within and arms reach of this man who she had bashed in the head with a wrench only hours earlier - or had it been only hours? Had it been days? She realized she had absolutely no clue how long she had been out for. Nana must be worried sick! Maybe she had called the authorities and someone would be searching for them right now -

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was shoved towards the chairs. She stumbled forward, losing her balance. Shorty reached out quickly to steady her awkwardly with his bound hands. Susanne quickly regained her composure, her cheeks bright red. "Thanks." She mumbled, lowering herself into one of the chairs, glancing up at the Blond man, then down, then up again, and so on. She didn't know whether she should make eye contact or if he would take that as a show of defiance rather than politeness. So she settled for short, quick glances every now and then. Mostly she just stared down at her lap. That seemed to be the safest place to look. Shorty settled into the seat next to her. He stared blatantly at the man across from them.

"Miss Benton." The Blond man spoke, his voice deep and disturbing. Exactly the sound she expected to come from him. And, like the others, he spoke with a heavy German accent. Her surprise that he knew her name made her head shoot up and she gawked at him. He chuckled, "Yes. I know you. I'm Doctor Hans Ackart. I knew your father."

Susanne frowned, but didn't speak.

"Knew of him, I should say." Dr. Ackart leaned back in his chair. It groaned under his weight. "I knew of his work. I heard he was a writer of sorts." He stared at her expectantly.

Susanne cleared her throat, "I-I really wouldn't know...I was very young when...when he died."

"Of course. Yes." He folding his hands on the table in front of him, leaning towards her. "When he died, he left you something. A key, maybe. Or a map, yes?"

"Don't answer that." Shorty warned. The two men beside Ackart shifted their weight, but he waved them off, keeping his eyes on Susanne.

"Did he leave you anything?" He asked again.

Susanne swallowed, her throat dry, "Uhm. I...I guess he might have? Just stupid little things...no maps of any kind, no."

His lip twitched. It was a sign of frustration. He clearly was not a patient man, "What kind of 'stupid things'?"

She touched the watch on her wrist. It was the one thing he left her that she used. She swallowed, glancing over a Shorty, who was watching her carefully, "Jewelery," She muttered, "Some old clothes that belonged to my mother-"

"What about that watch you're wearing? Is that from him?"

"Well, it-"

"May I see it?" He extended a large hand, Susanne flinched away from it. Reluctantly, she undid the strap and handed over the watch. Saying no wasn't an option, she could plainly see that. He looked it over, turning it in the light.

"Zerschlagen Sie es." He said, setting it down on the table before leaning back once again.

Susanne jumped, her hands shooting up to shield herself, as one of the men stepped forward and abruptly smashed the watch into pieces with the butt of his rifle. When he was finished, she cautiously lowered her arms and stared at the shattered remains of her father's watch. In the center of the rubble was a tiny piece of paper. Ackart plucked it out gently, and held it in front of her, eyebrows raised accusingly.

"I swear I didn't know about that!" Susanne defended.

He grunted, obviously not believing her, "I'm through."

The men beside him stepped around the table, one grabbing Susanne's arm, the other grabbing Shorty. Short promptly shook him off and walked out himself. The man led Susanne back into the hall to where the man who had first led them there was waiting. He was grinning, obviously having listened to everything. He knew that they were in serious trouble now that the German's had found something. Without a word to either of then, he strutted past them and led them back to their room.

Once the door was shut, Shorty turned to her where Susanne sat, rubbing her wrists, "Did you know?"

"Of course not!"

"Would you have told him if you did?"

There was a short pause, "No." She glared ahead at nothing in general.

Shorty plopped down beside her, beaming, "Great. We should be alright then."

Susanne glanced over at him curiously, "You are possibly one of the weirdest people I have ever met in my life." She paused, grinning genuinely for the first time since she'd gotten into this, "I think I mean that in a good way."

"Thanks. You seem pretty alright yourself, Susanne." He leaned his head back.

"How long do you figure we've been here?"

He shrugged, "A day, maybe. It's hard to tell with no sunlight."

"Oh. Right. And how long do you think they'll keep us here?"

He laughed, "The longer the better! If they have no further use of us, they aren't going to let us go. They'll just kill us. Luckily, they found something on you. So they'll probably want to keep you around for a while."

"And you?"

"Yeah, they'll wanna keep me." He turned his head to look at her with a grin, "I'm great with directions. So, if they're lookin' for something, I'd come in handy."

"Do they know that?"

He snorted, "Of course. Why else would they have brought me? This isn't my first run in with Germans. Word travels fast."

So it wasn't her fault that he was here. It was a small weight off her shoulders. "I see."

"And I'm willing to bet that Dr. Jones is out there looking for us as we speak."

"You sure have a lot of faith in this Doctor."

"Are you kidding? Of course I do! You've never heard of Indiana Jones?"

She vaguely recognized the name, "I might have. It was a long time ago if I ever did."

"Oh. Well, doesn't matter. He'll turn up pretty soon and break us out. You'll see." He smiled reassuringly.

Susanne yawned, "I can't wait."

"Should get some sleep." Shorty suggested, "We'll wanna be well rested for this."

What exactly 'this' was, Susanne couldn't keep herself awake long enough to find out. But whatever it was, it was going to be big.

**I'm kind of sad I didn't get to mutt in this chapter :( lol but he's comin! Probably in the next one. Right now, I'm trying to develop Susanne and her friendship with Shorty.**

**Please review! Is she getting better? I assure you, she isn't as whiny/wimpy as she seems here. She'll eventually get used to the situation and become more herself. Right now she's just really confused and freaked out. lol**


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys...are fantastic! haha I love all your reviews! :D:D thank you thank you thank you! lol**

When she woke up - whether it was the next day or not, she had no way of knowing- there was a small plate of mush waiting for her to eat. She sat, poking at it skeptically as Shorty dug in.

"It's not great to look at, but it tastes fine." he insisted.

"This can't be healthy." She muttered, bringing a spoonful up to her face and smelling it. After deciding it smelled alright, she put it in her mouth and chewed slowly. "Hm." She nodded approvingly before taking another bite. It tasted meaty and spicy. She may even have tasted gravy. It wasn't bad. "So," She struck up a conversation, starting close to where they had left off before she fell asleep, "How do you know this Dr. Jones? Is he your father or something?"

Shorty laughed, setting down his empty dish, "Not quite. Father figure, I guess. He was always more of a boss to me, though. He gave me a job when I was a kid, got me off the streets."

"He sounds like a great guy."

"He is. Gets into a lot of trouble, though."

"You mean this kind of trouble," She stated, gesturing around them.

"Yeah," He grinned, "This kind of trouble."

"That's one hell of a job for a kid."

"It was never boring."

"I'll bet." She laughed.

"Tell me about you." He stretched.

"I'm not nearly as interesting."

"So you think. Apparently, you're very interesting, given our current situation."

"Point taken." She crossed her legs, "Well, believe it or not, I never got into this kind of trouble. My mother died giving birth to me, my dad died when I was six, and now I live with my Nana downtown by the University." She shrugged, "Pretty normal."

"Not counting the fact that your Father hid some mysterious note inside a watch that you inherited."

"Right."

"So, tell me about him."

"He was a doctor. Again, nothing really out of the ordinary. He enjoyed sciences, spent most of his life in a lab, so I heard. I wouldn't really know." It wasn't too hard for her to talk about her dad. She barely remembered the man. The only family member she truly knew was her Nana. She knew her parents through what she told her.

Shorty nodded. "A scientist. Did he ever come up with anything? Find anything these guys might be interested in?"

"He never made any weapons, if that's what you mean. I'm being honest when I say I have no clue what they want."

"'S'okay. I guess will find out eventu-" He stopped short, listening intently. Susanne listened, too, and she heard shouting from outside. He stood up, peering out the tiny door window into the hall. "Something's happening." He waved her over. Susanne had to stand on her toes to be able to look out properly. Shorty watched over her shoulder as three Germans ran by, all carrying weapons.

"Is that good or bad?" she wondered aloud, looking back at him.

He shook his head, pulling her away from the door when one of the men stopped in front of it with keys. He quickly unlocked the door and threw it open. Two more men spilled in and started to bind their hands once again. "We're leaving." Susanne realized it was the same man who had led them away before. She recognized his jet black hair. He walked ahead of them, checking around corners, with his gun up and ready. They were walking very slowly this time, as if they were sneaking out. Susanne figured that this must be good. Someone was inside the building. Someone unwelcome. Someone had found them. She looked back at shorty with a hopeful smile and wondering eyes. He smiled widely back at her, nodding his head once. She faced forward once again, her stomach fluttering excitedly. Indiana Jones was here.

Mutt Williams poked his head around the door frame, his knife out and ready. The now open door read 'Storage'. He looked around the dark, dirty room quickly before sliding inside, keeping low. He flattened himself against a wall hurriedly as another small cluster of men ran by. He waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore before moving again. Ducking down as low as he could, he darted in behind some weapon filled crates. He kept his eyes peeled as they adjusted before he moved through the room as quiet as possible. He was far enough inside now that he was certain no one would be able to see him but he stayed down regardless, searching. He grinned widely when he spotted what he was looking for. Tucking the knife into the back of his pants, he stepped up to his bike. He ran his hand over the leather seat, inspecting it for any serious damage, before hopping on. He cursed. Of course, they hadn't left the keys with it. He was going to have to hot wire his own bike. He bent low over the front and got to work.

Susanne, Shorty, and the rest of their small group stopped before the hall split into three different corridors. "Blindfold them." The man with the black hair ordered, keeping watch while the others stepped forward to tie cloths over their eyes. Susanne felt hands on her shoulders, then she was being turned in circles. They were making them spin around to disorient them. Apparently, they were planning to return here at a later time, and they didn't want Susanne or Shorty to be able to find their way out. Just before Susanne got too dizzy to walk straight, the hands stilled her and led her straight forward. They made a few more turns before Susanne could see bright light through the cloth, which was promptly removed. They were standing behind a large military style jeep with a black tarp over the box. The back was already open and the men ushered the pair inside, using more rope to tie them to the front seats to ensure that they didn't try to jump off the back, before slamming the hatch shut. The extra men ran back inside to deal with the intruder while two others, the black haired man and another with light brown, climbed into the front. They started the engine before speeding away from the building. Susanne and Shorty watched out the back, waiting for help to appear through the dust being kicked up behind them.

Mutt cackled triumphantly as the engine sprang to life. He sat back, rubbing his hands together gleefully before revving the engine a couple of times and peeling out into the hall. He barreled through an alarmed group of Germans, making them dive into the nearest open room to get out of the way. His back tire slid and squealed as he whipped around the first corner, then another, and broke hard, stopping in front of a large cell where Indiana Jones was waiting, "You find 'em?" He called.

Indy shook his head, climbing on the back of the bike, "No. They got them out already. We'll have to go back to the front. I didn't notice any other exits."

Without another word, they were off, speeding through the halls. They ducked as one particularly brake man stood his ground and shot in their direction. One close bullet scraped past Mutt's forearm, leaving a two inch gash.

"You alright, kid?"

"I'll live." He growled. He was pissed now. When the German realized he'd run out of bullets, his eyes widened in panic when he noticed the bike wasn't going to stop. He dropped the gun and ran, throwing himself into the room with the steel table. Mutt sped by, making his way towards the door they had come through. He made a hard right at the three way split, another right soon after, and one left. The door was wide open, and the bike flew out into the open air.

"They came this way!" Indy yelled over the noise, pointing at the tire tracks in the dirty around them. "Just follow the tracks."

Mutt nodded to signal his understanding and stared forward, speeding up now that they weren't in danger of running into walls. "Up there!" he called back, nodding ahead where they could see a cloud of dust around the jeep.

"There!" Susanne said with quiet excitement, pointing out the back. She beamed over at Shorty, who was practically jumping out of his skin.

"Like clockwork." He muttered back, equally as thrilled. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the dirt, "Huh."

"What?"

"He brought Mutt."

"What's a Mutt?"

Shorty laughed at her confusion, "His son. I believe you stole his bike...?" He prompted the memory, grinning.

Susanne blinked, "Oh." She turned away from him, watching as the pair gained on them, "Crap."

He chuckled. "Get ready." He warned as they pulled in just a couple feet behind them, "This is gunna get rough."

"Get ready how, exactly?"

Shorty raised himself into a crouch, "Hang on and stay out of the way."

She nodded, "Right. I can do that."

"I need to borrow your knife." Indy stated.

"Back pocket." Mutt responded, staying behind the jeep so as to avoid any gunfire.

He grabbed it, shoving in into his own belt, "Alright, I need you to get me close enough to get in the back."

"No problem."

Susanne watched anxiously as the bike whipped out from behind them, coming back in a wide arch so that they were driving parallel with the back of the truck. It was perfectly timed, and the older man - who she assumed was Indiana - leapt off the back of the bike, hitting the back of the truck with a grunt, and pulled himself inside. The other - Mutt, so it seemed- pulled up next to the passenger side of the jeep.

"Short Round." Indy greeted with a crooked smile as he passed between Susanne and Shorty to deal with the Germans, one of which was currently firing shots out at Mutt.

"Indy." Shorty greeted excitedly.

Susanne did as the was told and ducked out of the way as the man in the passenger seat was tossed over the seat into the back of the truck with them. Shorty reacted like a seasoned pro and made quick work of kicking the German back against the hatch, which conveniently snapped open. He tumbled back but managed to hold on the the sides of the box, just out of Shorty's leg reach.

"Need ya in the back, kid!" Indy yelled, struggling with Black Hair for control of the truck.

Mutt quickly complied, slowing down to pull back into the rear beside the man hanging off the back of the truck. He made quick work of kicking the man down into the dirt, then kicked off his back to put himself back up to speed, just for good measure. "You gunna untie them or what?!" He called.

"I'm a little busy!" Indy roared, frustrated. "Shorty!" He tossed the knife in Shorty's direction.

Shorty gathered it in his bound hands and quickly started cutting Susanne's binds.

Once she was free, she took the knife from him and quickly freed his hands. "Now what?"

"You go with Mutt," Indy ordered, "Shorty, I might need you up here." He nodded out to his left. He had Black Hair out cold, but there was another truck coming in next to them.

"I'm sorry to be a pain in the ass, but how do you expect me to get on that bike?" Susanne asked.

"Jump!" Mutt suggested impatiently, once again driving along to passenger side.

"Jump?!" Susanne shrieked just as Shorty yelled, "She's not jumping!"

"Don't have time, here, guys." Indy warned, "Shorty, I need you to take the wheel!"

"Once second." He held out his hand to Susanne, "I'll help you on. Come on, hurry! Mutt, get in closer!"

The bike pulled in closer. taking Shorty's hand, Susanne climbed over the back of the seat into the front on his right. Shorty opened then door, "Stand up." He instructed. She complied shakily, watching the ground below them. She hadn't realized they were going so fast -

A shot rang, everyone ducked and Mutt swerved momentarily, but soon regained control.

"We need to speed this up!" He yelled, "Just step on!" He reached out to grab her free hand.

With a deep breath, she took it. Shorty's grip on her other hand helped her balance as she placed her right foot on the back of the leather seat of the bike.

"Gotta jump now." Shorty muttered. "You'll be fine, he's gotcha."

"How do I know he won't let go?! I _did _take his bike! I'm probably not his favorite person right now -" Another shot went off and Mutt yanked her over. She shrieked, steadying herself with both hands on his shoulders, then plopped down onto the seat. "Oh ow..." She groaned, rubbing her butt.

"Hang on." He ordered, swerving away from the truck.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, very aware of him in front of her. And of the fact that this was extremely awkward...

"You know how to handle a bike, am I right?" He asked.

"Kind of, I guess. Not well-"

"It's a yes or no question, sweetheart."

She glared at the back of his head, "Yes. And my name's not sweetheart. It's Susanne."

"Alright, then, Susie. I'm gunna switch you spots."

She forgot how much she hated being called Susie at _that_ statement. "You're _what?_"

"Climb over and take the handle."

"You're joking."

"No. Hurry up. They need help."

Susanne looked over to where Shorty and Indy were putting up a decent fight against the other truck full of men, but they were quickly being swamped, since they were outnumbered. She set her jaw in determination. "Fine."

"Fine."

With a deep breath, she removed her arms from around his waist and placed them on his shoulders to hoist herself to her knees and keep herself steady. _Alright. What's the best way to do this...Right leg over first - no, then my butt will be right in his face. Left first - Crap. Definitely not..._

"What's the hold up?"

"I'm not sure how to do this, exactly."

He freed his right hand from the handle and leaned to the left, reaching around with his free arm to guide her, "Okay, now, just...step around."

She did so slowly, his hand adjusting onto her back to ensure that she wouldn't fall. She was very careful not to step on him as she placed her right foot on the seat in front of him. She smiled awkwardly, coughing and trying her best not to blush. This would be weird with anyone, and it was especially weird with some guy she had just met.

"Now the other."

Sh gripped his shoulders tightly as she hoisted herself up a bit to pull the other leg around. She shifted her weight before settling herself onto the seat in front of him, a bit too close for comfort considering he was still controlling the bike. She placed her hands inside his on the handles.

"Got it?"

"Yep."

He slid back, putting his hands on her waist. "Drive back over there. What the hell - Why are you slowing down?!"

"I'm not!"

"You are!"

She sped up suddenly, out of spite, causing the bike to jerk violently, "Better?" She could feel him glaring at her. She turned back in towards the two trucks.

"Keep it steady." He warned. She felt his hands move up onto her shoulders and felt his weight momentarily as he raised himself to his feet. "Get me as close as you can."

She pulled up along the passenger side. Luckily, the men on board the speed truck were currently occupied with beating the hell out of each other, so no one really noticed them. She felt his hands leave her shoulders and she quickly looked back. He balanced himself until they were close enough, at which point he launched himself into one of the anonymous German men. Susanne watched helplessly as the three men took on six of the German men. She swerved as someone was thrown off the truck and into her path, checking the man quickly to make sure it wasn't anyone from her side before continuing to keep pace with the truck. She decided she would stay close, just in case someone got hurt and needed to bail out. It made her feel useful.

"What are you doing here?!" Shorty called back, taking his eyes off the road to check on Indy and noticing Mutt had joined the brawl.

"Though you could use a little help." He shrugged, punching the guy he was fighting across the left side of his face.

"Where's Susanne?!"

"She should be right there!"

Susanne waved uncomfortably when Shorty gawked at her. "Hi?"

"You were supposed to get her out of here! That was the whole idea!" He yelled angrily.

"You guys needed help, so I brought him back here," She explained for him, since Mutt needed to concentrate on the guys who were trying to kill him. "I thought I'd stick around, in case you need a get away driver." She added lightheartedly. She glanced behind her, "Or a lookout. You got more company." She spotted Ackart standing in the front of one of the large trucks, and his position drew her eyes to something even worse, "DUCK!" She cried. Pulling as far away as possible before Ackart activated the machine gun that was fastened on top on the truck. Mutt, Indy and the men they were fighting all dropped onto their stomachs, covering their heads with their arms. A bullet hit the back of the bike, sending the bike swerving out of Susanne's control. It slid out from under her, dragging her along for a couple of feet before stopping. She groaned in pain. There was a deafening 'pop', and huge clouds of dust were sprayed around her, then suddenly it was quiet. She heard a car door slam shut and footsteps on the gravel. She opened her eyes, propping herself up on her elbows. Ackart had blown out the back tires on the jeep, and was strolling up beside it, flanked by multiple men with automatic weapons.

"Indiana Jones. How lucky for us that you came."

"Lucky isn't the word I would use." Indy snorted.

Ackart smiled. "Load them into the truck. I want four men in the back with them, one for each. Don't let a single one out of your sight!"

Susanne let herself fall back onto the ground. They were back to square one. And this time, they couldn't rely on Idiana Jones to save them.

**YAY MUTT! (bounces around) (cough) sorry. heh. he brings out the fangirl in me, what can I say.  
you like? you like? you review? please? :P**


	4. Chapter 4

Every little bump in the dirt road sent sharp pains shooting up the side of her leg, which had been shredded by the crash. It wasn't that her life was in any immediate danger - she wasn't about to bleed to death anytime soon, it just stung like mad. Another thing that was starting to bother her was that blood was soaking through the only clothes she had. She was going to smell terrible. Not to mention she'd be covered in blood. She wondered if the Germans were ever going to let them clean up...even if they were the bad guys, they probably wouldn't enjoy the smell any more than she would.

"I can't believe you left her alone of that bike." Shorty was scolding.

"It's not my fault she can't drive! She told me she knew what she was doing - get that out of my face!" He snapped at the Guard beside him who had his gun pointed in his direction.

"_She_ is sitting right here." Susanne sighed, "And I did not say I knew what I was doing, I said I _kind of_ knew. Besides, how am I supposed to handle being gunned down on that thing?"

"Improvise."

"Right. Okay. I'll remember that next time someone whips out a machine gun on me!"

"You do that. Add that to your list of things to remember. Right after 'learn how to drive.' That's twice you've crashed my bike."

"It wasn't my-"

"For the love of God: No. TALKING!" The Black haired man yelled, rubbing his temples. Susanne could imagine the massive headache he must have, considering he had been unconscious until very recently. She settled on just shooting Mutt a quick glare before going back to trying to decide the best way to deal with her blood soaked pants.

The drive back was much longer than Susanne thought it would be. Although, that could have just be due to the fact that there was no high speed chase going on and they weren't allowed to talk the entire ride. On the plus side, she had officially decided that she would attempt to rip her jeans and get rid of majority of the blood soaked areas of material.

"Dr. Jones, you come with me. We have something to discuss." Ackart stated once they were back, turning and walking inside. Indy followed, obivously a curious man. "Take them back." He called over his shoulder before disappearing into the building.

Susanne groaned when she saw the blindfold. She was getting so sick of having her eyes covered. Of course, she didn't complain at all when they secured the cloth and led her back into what was fast becoming her new home. Back to that God damn cell. There was one strange difference, though. She was on edge, nervous, shaky in a completely different way. Her heart still hadn't stopped pounding and it was showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. She couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling, but her knees felt weaker and she was much less eager to speak up. She felt...shy? Self conscious?

Her escort shoved her back into the cell before whipping off her blindfold and slamming shut the cell door. Two of the three men stayed by the door to keep guard. Susanne limped over to a secluded corner, trying her hardest to keep the limping to a minimum. The less noticable it was - _she_ was - the better, in her mind.

"Need some help?" Shorty asked, appearing beside her.

Susanne flinched. _Damn. Not stealthy enough._ "Nope. I'm getting there. I'm good." She shuffled forward stubbornly. She finally reached the corner, conveniently the furthest from where Mutt had decided to sit, and lowered herself, careful to keep most of the weight on her good leg. When she figured she was close enough to the ground, she just let herself fall the rest of the way. She yelped. Apparently, her tailbone was bruised as well. Probably from her death defying leap onto a moving motorcycle. "Ugh!" She whacked her head back against the wall.

"I offered to help you..." Shorty muttered, mistaking her frustration to be directed at him.

"Oh no! That wasn't directed at you, sorry. It's just...my butt hurts." She finished lamely.

Across the room, she heard Mutt laughing under his breath.

She glared, and just continued, pretending to ignore him and how her stomach dropped. "And my leg stings." She finished, much quieter than before, staring into her lap.

Shorty lowered himself on to the ground beside her, a little too close for her comfort, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings by moving away. "Anything I can do?"

She shrugged, tugging on her ripped pantleg, trying to tear it without moving too much. She was getting a little annoyed with her new fear of being noticable._ Get over it! You were just fine before, all things considered._ Only before it had just been her and Shorty...She snuck a glance in Mutt's direction, and quickly looked away when he looked her way. "Uh," She cleared her throat, "I was thinking: I don't really want to have to sit in blood soaked jeans for...well, however long we have to be here. But," She tugged a little harder on her pant leg, "I'm not quite strong enough to rip it off."

"Lemme try." Shorty suggested, eager to help.

Susanne hesitated, "Ah...alright?"

He adjusted his position next to her, kneeling beside her to get a better angle before grabbing a loose piece of fabric, his fingers brushed over her thigh and Susanne flinched. She wasn't really in to being touched. It made her feel uneasy. He pulled on it, getting the rip to grow only a couple of inches before it stopped at the stitch that ran along the side of her leg. "That'll be hard to rip." He pointed out, sitting back. He left his hand resting on her leg, Susanne noticed, and she casually shifted her postition, pretending to be trying to get comfortable, wiggling her leg ever so slightly in hopes that he might move his hand. He lifted it and placed it on the floor between them, his eyebrows furrowed as he pondered how to get past the stitch.

"You could cut it." Mutt suggested.

Susanne's jumped. She hadn't thought he was paying attention.

"With what?" Shorty asked.

"You have my knife, don't you? Or did they take it from you?"

Shorty patted all his pockets, then shrugged, "Nah. I don't have it..." he looked over at Susanne, "I gave it to you-"

"OH!" Susanne blushed, pulling the knife out of her front pocket, "Yeah. Sorry. I forgot about that..." She handed it to Shorty, not missing how Mutt crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head with a smirk. "Try not to cut me, please."

"Yeah, I think she covered that earlier when she crashed." Mutt agreed.

Susanne glared at him, "I didn't crash." She mumbled grudgingly. "I was shot. I'm _so sorry_." She added sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her own chest, much the same way he had.

"Alright," Shorty cut in, shooting Mutt a warning glance, "Hold still."

Susanne complied, instinctively leaning away from the blade while he slowly cut away at the thick, bloody material.

"Okay. Turn over." he stated once he was finished the top and outside of the pant leg.

"That's alright," Susanne smiled, gently taking the knife from him, "I appreciate your help but I can take it from here." She bent her leg, leaning down so she could see what she was doing. She could feel their eyes on her, and it made her cut faster. She didn't like them watching her so intently. Smiling, she finished the leg. She sat back and slowly pulled the unattatched fabric off of her leg, wincing as it dragged over her scraped skin. She breathed a sigh of relief once it was completely gone before she moved on to the other leg.

There was shuffling from across the room. Susanne peered over through her lashes to where Mutt was removing his leather jacket. She was surprised to see that he had a _very_ decent build. He rolled up the jacket, making it so he could use it as a pillow, before laying down. She shook her head, sighing to herself and turning her attention back to what she was doing.

**Slooow chapter. I was really stuck at the beginning there, so I know this one's kind of lame.  
sorry guys :( lol I just wanted to move it along a bit. I'm tired though, and if I keep going i'll get back into the plot too much and i won't be able to stop and that won't be good considering I have to work tomorrow so, for the sake of my sleep, I'm going to leave this chapter like this. I suppose it's not completely pointless. It's kind of showing the developing relationships between the characters. lol:P :S**

**please review anyway? lol**


	5. Chapter 5

"Marilyn Monroe or..." Susanne paused, squinting up at the ceiling from where she lay with her back flat against the cold concrete floor, "Grace Kelly?"

Shorty took his time comparing the two. They had started the game up to pass the time, since being captive did not turn out to be as exciting as one would think. "Marilyn Monroe."

She twisted her neck to look at him, "Really? I would figured you for a Grace kind of guy..."

He shrugged, "I like funny girls. Grace Kelly's too serious."

"Interesting."

"My turn."

"Yep." She crossed her arms behind her head and waited.

"Hm. I need a tough one for you-"

"Cary Grant or James Dean?" Mutt called from his place across the room.

Susanne looked over to where he was sitting up again with his arms resting lazily on his knees, head back against the wall, waiting for her answer. She had assumed he had fallen asleep, since he had been quiet for so long.

"Oh! Good one!" Shorty complimented. Mutt grinned, then both men returned their attention to Susanne. "So. Which is it?" He was so interested in her answer, it was a little ridiculous. "I bet I can guess."

Susanne couldn't help but kind of grin. He was getting so into the game. Sometimes he reminded her of a puppy. Very eager all the time. And a tad clingy...but at the moment: Eager. "Sure. Do your worst."

He stared at her with his eyes narrowed for dramatic effect. Judging her, analyzing her. "Grant." He said with cocky certainty.

She bit her lip, grinning. She shook her head, "Nuh uh. James Dean." Jeez, she was blushing already.

"No way!" Shorty's mouth was wide open, "James Dean?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"He's..." He struggled for a moment, looking over at Mutt, "He's..."

"Not her type?" Mutt offered.

"YES!"

Susanne was taken back, "And what, exactly, is my type? Since you know me so well." She sat up, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well," Shorty cleared his throat, "I think a girl like you would be better suited to someone...someone..."

She waited, "Someone?"

"I dunno. Normal."

"Normal?" Mutt raised his eyebrows. He sounded a little offended.

"No, not normal." _Poor Shorty,_ Susanne thought. He was having a lot of trouble. He eventually gave up, "It's hard to explain. Never would have thought you'd go for him."

Mutt nodded, clearly agreeing. "So. James Dean, huh?"

"Yeah..." She could feel how red her face must be.

"Why James Dean?" Shorty asked, frowning like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"Um. He's...very good looking. Rugged. Young, mysterious...and that _car_..." She trailed off. "He's got this edge to him...it's so intriguing!"

"Cary Grant could have an edge." Shorty muttered.

Susanne frowned, too, "I suppose he could. He's attractive, too, I suppose. In his own way." She decided to meet him halfway, since he didn't seem to like her answer. "He seems more like the settling down type." No need to add that the fact that James Dean was so unobtainable was even more attractive...

Shorty seemed satisfied, "So, you'd have a fling with Dean and settle down with Grant?"

"...I haven't really planned it out. I've always thought that James would propose eventually, but you can't wait forever." She joked, smirking. "I think you're getting a bit too into this, Shorty." She elbowed him gently, trying to loosen him up and lighten up his mood.

It worked. He smiled, "I think you're right." He laughed.

She noticed that Mutt was no longer sitting. She was annoyed by how aware she was of what he was doing.

"So, whatta ya think they needed him for?" He asked, peering out the tiny door window curiously.

"Dr. Jones, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Probably to decipher the note that they found in Susanne's father's watch."

"What note?"

Susanne shook her head, "Don't look at me, I have no idea what it said. I didn't even know it was in there." She had stopped her fear induced shaking sometime during the chase. In the time that had passed since then - an couple hours or so, she assumed - she had just been getting frustrated. Frustrated by the fact that she was here and had no idea why or to what end. She had been thinking way too much about possible ends to this whole situation, figuring that ultimately she was just sitting around and waiting for them to decide that they didn't need her anymore then kill her. Sitting around, waiting to die. And that meant that, by the end of all this, Indy, Shorty and Mutt would probably all be dead, too. Because of some stupid note. And because she was too big of a coward to do something about it. The thought was infuriating.

Shorty had decided to brief Mutt on what had happened so far before he showed up, which wasn't too much, to be quite honest.

"Basically, all we know is they want something from her dad...and that paper can probably help them find it." Shorty concluded, summing everything up into a single sentence.

"We need to get that paper." Mutt stated, more to himself than anyone else.

They sat in silence for a long while. Susanne figured that Shorty had fallen asleep. The soft snoring kind of gave him away. Mutt was back by his jacket, probably trying to think of ways to get the paper and destroy it without dying in the process. Susanne was devising a plan of her own. One she was certain would stop the Germans - or at least slow them down - and give the others a chance to get away. If or when the Germans caught up with her...She reached into her pocket and touched Mutt's knife. She wasn't gunna go down without a fight, she decided. She'd been too co-operative and it had just gotten them into more and more trouble. It was time for a new angle.

She hadn't realized she was staring until Mutt met her eyes. She was too far gone into her idea to be nervous or uncomfortable. He must have recognized the look in her eyes, for his held a similar look. The look of blind determination. Just dive in, consequences be damned. It was the first time that she felt that she and Mutt understood each other. For that moment that they shared a look, they were thinking in exactly the same way. The light in the cell dimmed - something she had only noticed now. She figured that to mean that it was night. In the time it took for their eyes to adjust to the darkness, the look was lost. Susanne laid down, trying to find a comfortable place to put her head. There was a hissing scratching noise as something slid across the floor towards her. She reached out, her hand coming in contact with cool leather. Her stomach did that strange flip thing that was becoming a regular occurrence. It was Mutt's jacket. "Thanks." She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"You've been here longer. You probably need the sleep more than I do." He explained.

She smiled to herself, tucking the jacket under her head like a pillow and closing her eyes. "Good night, Mutt."

"Night, Susie."

Her eyes shot open, "It's _Susanne._" She hissed. He had to ruin the moment! She could hear him laughing at her apparent disapproval and it just made her even more annoyed. She groaned, rolling over so she was facing the wall. It took her a while, but eventually she fell asleep.

**another slow one. but, thanks to music, i have a couple of things planned. one of which will happen next chapter (cheer!). plot is moving along to my satisfaction now! bwahaha that means more regular updates and better, more exciting chapters to come! Character development gets boring after too long, so I'm trying to get through that in a way that is short, but still believable. lol:P review please!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Someone was shaking her, and not gently.

"Get up."

Susanne opened her eyes slowly. The man had an accent. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching. Mutt and Shorty were already on their feet, each with their own German guard standing behind them. She sighed, getting to her feet and holding her hands in front of her to be bound. The black haired man that always got the priviledge of walking them back and forth simply glared at her before grabbing her upper arm and leading her through the door. His grip didn't let up. She heard shuffling behind her.

"Watch the jacket." She heard Mutt warn. She shook her head, smirking. Careful to be unnoticed, she touched the front pocket of her jeans to make sure the knife was still there. She dropped her hand back to her side, staring ahead as they approached the room with the metal table. Ackart was sitting in the same spot as before, waiting for their arrival. She spotted the paper laying open in the middle of the table. Indiana Jones was standing against the wall to her right. He, she noticed, had two men guarding him.

There were no formalities. "Sit." Ackart ordered, his face blank. He was staring at her.

"I'll stand." Mutt stated, staying put while Shorty and Susanne both took their seats.

Susanne tipped over her chair, pretending to have done so accidentally due to her nerves, "Sorry!" she bent to pick it up, sliding the knife out of her pocket while she was bent over, and gripping it in her right hand. She set the chair back upright, faking embarassment.

Ackart slid the note towards her, "Read it."

Susanne frowned curiously before leaning forward to look at it. "Africa?" She looked over at Indy who shrugged.

Ackart nodded, "Africa. That's all. He must have assumed you would understand that." His eyes narrowed.

She gulped, "I have no idea-"

He slammed his hand onto the table in front of her, making her jump, "You must! He left it to you! For you to find and follow now tell me: _where_ in Africa!" He was shaking with rage now.

Susanne glanced at his hand and the paper next to it, spotting her opening. She turned the knife over in her hand, making it so the blade facing down. She peered over at Shorty, then back at Mutt. His eyes were on her hand and wide. He shook his head. Susanne looked down, then counted how many men were around her...she counted 6. Six against four wasn't bad. If the others put up a fight, that is. And she had a pretty clear path to the door. If she was quick enough, she could get through before any of them knew what was going on. Her grip tighted around the knife handle.

She moved fast as Mutt yelled, "Don't!" while Shorty, only just realizing what was happening, screamed, "Susanne, No!"

She drove the knife into the back of his hand, reaching with her left hand and snatching the paper. Ackart cried out in pain as she ripped the knife free and bolted through the door.

She heard yelling and crashing but she kept running, turning at random trying to find the exit. She shrieked as she was tackled. She swung madly at her attacker, trying to throw him off.

"Ow! Jesus - Stop!"

It was Mutt. She kept kicking, "Get off!"

"Are you insane! They have _guns_! They'll just shoot you!"

"The point was for you guys to run!"

"They'd shoot us!" He pinned her arms down, "Stop hitting me!"

She stared up at him, trying to catch her breath. She still held the knife in one fist and the paper in the other.

"What were you _thinking?_" He panted.

"I don't want to wait to be killed." She stated plainly.

He blinked, looking surprised. He opened his mouth to speak-

"They're over here!" A voice called, and before either Mutt or Susanne could say anything, there was a gun pointed down at them, "Don't move."

At that statement, their positions on the floor sunk in. He heart was pounding again and she was shaking. She shut her eyes, breathing slowly and trying not to think about it. She could hear a large group of people running in their direction. "This is so not good."

"No kidding." Mutt muttered.

"Woah." Indy whistled, grinning crookedly.

Shorty stared silently.

"Get up slowly!" the gunman ordered.

Mutt removed himself and Susanne peeled herself off the floor.

"This is not what it looks like!" She stated, looking over at Shorty. Though, why should would have to explain herself was beyond her. He just looked...strangely betrayed. It could have also been her way of defending her racing heart to those who weren't aware of it. She just felt as though everyone could see right through her. "I was just running, and he caught up with me and-"

"Stop talking." Mutt hissed staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Sure." Susanne gulped, raising her hands into the air in surrender. Ackart stepped through the group and stood over her, prying the paper out of her hands. He reached for the knife and Susanne started to panic. _He's going to kill me._

**okay i gotta stop**

**sucks, cuz i was on a creative roll, but its a nice cliffhanger. i gotta go chill with my peeps now (lol)  
please review! more will come ASAP. i get my tattoo tomorrow, so i dunno if it'll be tomorrow of the next day, but i will update sooooon! :D lol**


	7. Chapter 7

**"Stop talking." Mutt hissed staring down the barrel of a gun.**

**"Sure." Susanne gulped, raising her hands into the air in surrender. Ackart stepped through the group and stood over her, prying the paper out of her hands. He reached for the knife and Susanne started to panic.**_** He's going to kill me.**_

He gently pulled the knife out of her shaking hand and passed it to one of the men behind him. He raised his bloody left hand, holding it up for her to see. Then, quicker than she could process, he lashed out, bringing the back of his hand hard across her left cheek. Susanne didn't move from her post-impact position, too shocked by the feeling. She had never been hit before, and it felt like the entire left side of her face had been split open.

"Get back!" A German voice yelled as the group irrupted.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

She should have known it would be Shorty. She nodded, reaching up to touch her face. There was some other commotion happening around them. Raised voices, guns being loaded left and right. She looked up, keeping her hand on her cheek as if it would help the pain in some way, and saw Ackart in a very similar position, but his once clean right hand was covering his nose. That hand was now also covered in blood. Curious, Susanne looked to Dr. Jones, but he looked just as intrigued as she felt. She followed his gaze to where Mutt was being restrained by two of the men, the rest had their guns pointed in his direction. The knuckles on his right hand also had blood on them.

"He punched him?" She wondered aloud.

Shorty grunted, "Seems like it." He snorted now, with an edge of laughter, "He's lucky they haven't shot him."

She stared over at Mutt, "Wow." She muttered, missing the look Shorty gave her.

"Take them both to Solitary!" Ackart roared, his voice distorted by his hand.

"Both, Sir?"

"Yes, damnit! I don't want anyone or anything going in or out without my permission, is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Once again, someone stood forward to escort Susanne. This time, they made sure to bind her hands.

Susanne shot Shorty a look of worry mixed with confusion. He didn't look at all happy about what was happening. He continued to watch over his shoulder as the remaining men led him and Indy down the opposite direction and back towards their old cell. She and Mutt were taken down a hall she had never been in before. It was just a corridor with no windows or rooms except for one thick metal door at the very end. There was no window on this door. She had a feeling there wouldn't be any inside either. Although she wasn't Claustrophobic or afraid of the dark, she was horrified to be alone in that room. For the first and probably the only time in her life, she wished she was back in her old cell with Indy and Shorty.

One of their escorts unlocked the door. It made a loud creak as it was pulled open. She was right: no windows. She gulped, staying as far back as her own personal escort would allow. He grunted when she backed into him. He quickly untied her hands and shoved her into the dark room.

_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry..._"Umph." She stumbled forward as someone crashed into her back. An arm quickly wrapped around her waist to keep for from plunging head first into the cell wall. She peered over her shoulder, catching a short glimpse of Mutt's glaring face before the door was shut and it was pitch black around them.

He kept his arm around her waist for a moment while their eyes tried to adjust. "You alright?"

Susanne nodded, but then realized her probably couldn't see her, "Yes."

The arm was instantly removed. She started to panic, feeling around for a wall to sit in front of and curl into herself. She didn't like that she couldn't see him. It made her feel as if she were alone, and that made her very nervous. Her hand made contact with the cold wall and she turned, leaning her back against it and sliding down to sit. Curling her legs into her chest, she shut her eyes trying very hard to slow her breathing and keep from crying.

He must have heard her shaky, labored breaths, because she heard a ruffling next to her as he lowered himself onto the ground beside her, still far enough away to avoid any contact. But still, it made her feel better to be able to hear his breaths close by. She could feel herself starting to calm down, just as long as she focused on something other than the black cell that she was trapped in.

"How long do you think we have to stay in here?" She asked quietly once she was calm enough to form a sentence.

"Well, you stabbed him then tried to steal his clue then tried to escape, then I punched him in the face...so," He was quiet for a minute, "A couple days?"

She chuckled, "Right." She glanced over at his dark shape, "How's your hand, by the way?"

"It's fine." She could vaguely see him look her way, "How about you? Looked like he hit you pretty hard..."

"Sore. But I'll live."

"Good."

Her stomach flipped. "Thank you. For sticking up for me..."

"My pleasure."

If he didn't quit being so nice all of the sudden, she was going to puke from all the different ways her stomach was jumping. She kept pushing for more anyway because, regardless of that fact, she liked to hear it, "I sort of thought you hated me." She laughed.

"Nah."

"Good."

"You'd be hard to hate." This time it was her heart rate that jumped. She was glad it was pitch black in the room, because she knew her face was probably bright red, she was fiddling with the edges of her jeans, and she had the biggest, dopiest grin on her face. Any fear she had of being in this room had vanished. All she wanted now was to be in there with him for as long as possible.

"Oh."


	8. Chapter 8

The blackness of the cell made it impossible to keep track of time in any way. Eventually, Susanne lost any track she had on whether it was night or day. She simply slept when she was tired. Mutt must have been having a similar problem, because he was doing the same. After a while, they managed to work out a schedule that had it so that they would be asleep at the same time. That way, neither of them would have to sit awake and alone in the dark cell while the other slept. Susanne decided that this was probably mostly for her benefit. She didn't really see Mutt as being bothered by the small, dark cell. At least, not as much as she was and not enough to be noticeable.

After a few sleeps - that was how they had kept track of their days spent in solitary -, the door finally opened. Susanne shut her eyes quickly, the light made her head pound. They had been in there long enough that she wasn't used to even the dim lighting of the deserted hallway.

"Come on." Mutt touched her shoulder reassuringly while he got to his feet. Susanne followed suit, still squinting at the shadow in the door.

Their escort tied their hands in silence before walking with them back towards the old cell. When she had first been tossed into solitary, she would have though she would be relieved to be going back into the old cell with Indy and Shorty. Now she felt nothing. She had grown used to her and Mutt's dark cell, and regardless of size, company and lighting: a prison was still a prison. She knew she would miss being alone with Mutt. It forced them to talk to each other. Really talk, for the first time since they had gotten here. She had learned all about Mutt's mother. About how she used to go on 'adventures' with Indiana, and about the adventure he himself had gone on. It had been the first time he had met his real father. Only just over a year ago. It was unbelievable, and one of the best conversations she had had in her life. She had never been so interested in hearing what someone had to say. But, truth be told, her developing affection towards Mutt made her hang off of every word he said. He could have read her the dictionary, and she would have eaten it up like a bedtime story.

She blinked a couple of times, noticing the hole in the sleeve of his jacket, "What happened there?" she whispered.

"Some guy shot at me when we were trying to rescue you two." He glared at the man walking ahead of them.

"YOU GOT SHOT?" She shrieked.

The guard shushed her.

He looked over at her like she was crazy, "No! You don't think you would've noticed if I'd been _shot?_ Like, actually _shot?_"

The guard stopped, turning and getting right in their faces, "No. _talking._"

Susanne wanted to ask more, but let it go grudgingly. Besides they only had to walk a little while longer before they were at the familiar door to the cell. The german quickly untied their hands before opening the door and ushering them inside. He was clearly in a hurry to get away from them. Susanne guessed he didn't enjoy filling in for the Black Haired man that usually walked them from room to room.

She squeaked as Shorty immediately leaped up and threw his arms around her, "You're okay!" He stated, sounding quite relieved.

Susanne patted him on the back awkwardly, "Of course I'm okay." She gently pushed him away from her. Mutt was over talking to Indiana. Susanne was upset to see that he seemed to have no reaction to Shorty jumping her. Was he just going to go back to ignoring her now that they had other company? _Maybe he only spoke to me because he had no one else..._

She had only been back for about a minute, and she was already missing solitary.

"What happened?" Shorty asked, taking her by the elbow and leading her over to one of the walls, supporting her like she had been through some huge ordeal and might collapse at any moment. It was irritating. She wasn't _that_ weak.

She shrugged, "Nothing. They took us to this tiny little cell, tossed us in and left. All we saw of them was the arm that tossed in the food."

"Both of you? Like...together?"

Susanne laughed, "Yeah, Thank God. I might've had a breakdown if Mutt hadn't have been there." She looked up at Mutt to see if he would laugh, too. He gave a crooked grin and a modest shrug. It was enough.

"Really? I thought it was supposed to be punishment! I would have punched him if I knew it would get me locked in a dark room with you for four days!"

_Awkward._ Susanne stopped laughing and no one spoke for a few moments.

Eventually Mutt broke the silence, clearing his throat, "Really, four days? Wow."

"Yeah: Wow." Susanne nodded her head vigorously, blowing past Shorty's awkward confession. "I had no idea we were there that long."

"No idea." Mutt agreed.

"Really? How could you not know?" Shorty inquired.

"There was absolutely no light in there. No windows or anything, we had no way to tell." She explained.

"Huh." Shorty yawned. "You must be tired-"

"No, not really. We just woke up a couple hours ago."

"But...it's night?"

"Really?...I guess out sleeping pattern got thrown off. But you guys can sleep if you want to, I don't mind."

"I'll do that." Indy smiled, leaning back against the wall and pulling his hat over his eyes, "Nice meeting you...?"

"Susanne."

"Susanne. Right. Well, nice meeting you, Susanne."

"You, too."

Shorty waited for a moment before Indy started to snore, "So, Mutt...you tired?"

"Not really." Mutt lowered himself onto the ground across from them and leaned back against the wall, making himself comfortable.

"Oh. Good. Me neither." Shorty crossed his arms over his chest, and Mutt raised an eyebrow at him, confused by his friends odd behavior.

Susanne, on the other hand, knew that Shorty felt threatened. He had a developed a 'thing' for her, and had probably noticed that she had developed and similar 'thing' for Mutt, and now he wasn't going to leave them alone together. She groaned low to herself, hitting the back of her head against the wall. Things had definitely changed since they had all been in the cell together last. And she was sure she didn't like it.

**eh. review please? lol**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hellooooo! I know what you're probably thinking: holy shit, she's still alive! My response is this: yes, dear faithful readers who will still read this. I am alive. And i am very very sorry that I have been neglecting this story so badly. You see, my excuses are many. Both my little brother and my best friend moved away to different cities (one to a different country) at the end of the summer, so i wanted to spend time with them, then there was work and travelling, then i started up university once i got back from one such trip while also continuing to work and the shit just kept piling up on me. I know, none of that condones ditching on this story. I re-read the whole thing to get back into my writing groove with it, and I gotta say: this is one of my favorites that i have written. So, after 3 months of neglect, i am back. and we're going to re-start this puppy. Hopefully, some of you are still interested in hearing what happens! :D and to make up for my bad self: this chapter is long as hell. basically like three chapters in one.**

Two days later, Susanne found herself aboard a German plane bound for Africa. Where they thought they would go, she had no idea. She just hoped they weren't counting on her leading the way, because she had no idea what was going on. Over the past couple of days, Mutt and Susanne had sort of managed to get back into normal sleeping patterns. They weren't quite right yet, but it was a start. At least now Shorty wouldn't be so adamant about staying up with them all the time. When they weren't sleeping they were talking about what the German's might be looking for in Africa, where it might be, how they might get to it first, things like that. All strategy and what not. Like Susanne had thought: she now had zero time to talk with Mutt. It was almost like it was before, which was, in a word, depressing. Even now on the plane, Mutt sat next to Indy while Shorty had happily plopped himself into the seat next to Susanne. Shocker. Each pair had a matching pair of guards with guns sitting behind them. Susanne, personally, thought that was just stupid. Where could they possible go? They're in a plane for Christ sake.

They landed in what looked to Susanne like the middle of no where. Just in a clearing that they happened across. There were two military style jeeps waiting for them when they landed. Ackart paid the two African men and they went on their way. He began shouting orders to his men - all in German of course, so Susanne understood none of it- and then they were all being shoved out the door of the plane towards the jeeps. All four went to one but they were stopped.

"You two," the guard pointed to Susanne and Indy, "In this one." He pointing behind him at the nearest jeep. "You," He obviously meant Shorty and Mutt, "In the other. Move." He nudged Mutt in the back his the barrel of his gun, urging him forward when he didn't move on command.

"Take it easy. I'm goin'."

Susanne watched as Mutt and Shorty were led over to the other jeep before climbing into the back of her own mobile prison. They were splitting them up. The Germans were getting smart: they finally realized that the four of them together was bad news. Susanne was a little insulted by their implications of putting her and Indy in the same truck. She figured that they split them strategically and equally so that they wouldn't have two major threats in one car - AKA Indy and basically either of the boys. So they had put the girl with no fighting experience into the truck with the master of all that is ass kicking to even things out. Those Bastards.

The trucks pulled away on to a side road, Susanne's jeep leading the group since her escorts were Ackart himself and the Black Haired guard who always led them around. They drove through the trees on a very narrow, gravel road. She could hear running water somewhere in the distance. She assumed it was from a nearby river. Susanne glanced back at the following jeep and frowned. It had slowed down dramatically to turn off the main drag - if you could even call it that - and disappeared into the trees. She panicked. "Where are they going?!"

The black haired man quickly picked up the intercom, "Metzger, ist alles ganz richtig zurück dort?" He waited for a reply, but none came. Susanne looked at Indy worriedly as Ackart ordered the guard to tie their hands - just in case-, but his face didn't show much, so that didn't comfort her at all. So it was at this point where Susanne was officially freaking out. Did the guards get sick of the guys and pull off to get rid of them? Who knows what might happen when you put two young, defiant men together with a couple of irritable Nazis. It was a very scary thought. But before she could dwell on this much longer, the radio crackled and a voice she recognized to be Mutt came over the speaker.

"Hello Gentlemen."

Ackart and Black Hair exchanged a look of shock.

Mutt laughed on the other end. "Alright, listen up. We can do this the easy way or the hard way-"

Indy was practically glowing with pride, "He gets this from me." He stated, earning himself glares from the gentlemen up front.

"Where's Metzger?! Where are you hiding?" Ackart hissed.

"Look up, assholes."

Susanne's looked up the mountain - she hadn't noticed the rising cliff on their left...probably because she had been obsessing over whether Mutt and Shorty were alive or not - and saw the other jeep driving above them along the edge. Shorty waved out of the passenger side window.

"So what's it gunna be boys?"

Her heart was pounding. What the hell could they possibly do from up there? Then, just as the Black Haired guard loaded his gun, she noticed that Shorty was clutching one of the Germans' rifles in his hand. He aimed it down at the jeep with a triumphant grin. They weren't too high up, so it would be a fairly easy shot.

"Go ahead." Ackart snapped, "Shoot us. But if you fire," The guard pointed his gun at Indy's head, "We'll blow his head off."

The was a pause on the other end and Shorty lowed his weapon.

"I guess it's the hard way then." Mutt stated - did Susanne hear a hint of excitement in his voice? That couldn't be good - before turning off the radio. All eyes were on the other jeep. Mutt pulled away from the edge so that Susanne could no longer see the passenger side of the vehicle. Suddenly, there was the loud roar of the engine and a shower of loose rock and gravel as the jeep drove right over the edge of the cliff. Susan screamed, watching in horror as the jeep crashed upright onto the road in front of them - swerving dangerously for a moment or two before Mutt regained control and stopped right in their path. Ackart slammed on the breaks to avoid crashing into the other vehicle, throwing Susanne, Indy, and even the other guard forward, causing the guard to lose his grip on the rifle as he collided with the dash board.

It was at this point that all hell broke loose.

Ackart regained his senses and pushed the gas pedal to the floor, swerving over the lower brush along the side of the road to try to get around the other vehicle. Mutt and Shorty launched themselves onto the truck as it passed, Shorty landing himself in the front with the two Germans while Mutt landed in the back with Indy and Susanne. Another German with a bloody gash on his forehead barely caught the back of the jeep as it sped off - must have been one of the boys' escorts. While Shorty did his best to deal with Ackart, Mutt was trying to untie Indy so that he could help with the guards. But he wasn't too successful, considering he kept having to stop what he was doing to avoid punches and deliver a few blows of his own.

"Come on, kid!" Indy urged, wiggling, trying to help loosen the knots.

"I'm gettin' it! Stop moving!"

"Look out!" Susanne shouted before throwing herself at the black haired German who had swung around behind Mutt with a gun. She and the man toppled off the back of the truck.

"Susie!"

Susanne groaned, wincing, "Ow." She forced herself into a sitting position, looking for the jeep. It was quickly pulling away from where she lay on the gravel road with Mutt in a struggle with the other German. Indy was free and had taken over the fight for control with Ackart while Shorty gaped in horror back at her. The guard had landed on the ground next to her and was getting to his feet. Susanne gulped, scrambling up. Lucky for her, he had lost his gun in the back of the jeep. Once she noticed that he, too, was unarmed, she figured that her best bet was to run. She bolted down the road as fast as her legs would carry her, being sure to keep the jeep in her sight line. She could hear the cursing and labored breathing of the man behind her. He was right on her tail and if she tripped or anything, he would easily catch her.

With another glance over at the road, she noticed that Indy had somehow managed to gain control of the vehicle while Shorty and Mutt restrained the two Germans.

"Susanne!" Indy called, stopping the vehicle and waving her over.

She veered to the right, running towards the jeep. She yelped when the dark haired German cut her off - having predicted this move on her part when he heard Indy call her name. Susanne was forced to veer off her course, running blindly to her left. She kept checking over her shoulder, which turned out to be a really stupid thing to do when she tripped pretty much over her own feet, stumbling for a moment before the german plowed into her at full speed, knocking the wind out of her and sending them both flying through the air. She waited for the impact, bracing herself for the pain she knew would probably come with it, but instead of hitting solid ground with a 'thump', there was a splash and her nose and mouth were filled with water.

_This is not good._ She thought, trying her best to stay calm and not freak out - that would only cause her to run out of breath faster and she needed all the oxygen she had because, judging by the fact that she had a large German man using her as a life raft and her wrists were still bound, she might be spending a lot of the next however-many-minutes fighting for air.

Thinking about that particular fact did nothing to help with her whole 'staying calm' plan. As you might have guessed: she started to panic. Big time. She thrashed as much as she could, trying to get that damned man off her back so she could get at least one little breath of air. She could hear muffled yells above the surface, but couldn't quite recognize the voices or what they were saying. Finally, one of her flailing kicks hit it's mark, making the German release her for a moment. Susanne broke the surface, gasping.

"We need that girl!" Ackart was yelling. While Shorty was cussing out the German telling him to 'get off of her', but in much more colorful words. She tried to focus less on what was happening on shore and more on how to keep herself above the water. She kicked her legs desperately - she had never realized how much she needed her arms to swim. God, her legs were starting to get tired. She felt the German man kick off her - asshole was using her to get a head start on swimming to the edge! - and she was momentarily submerged again. She heard a loud curse from the shore beside her before everything became muffled again.

The first thing she noticed once she re-emerged at took a few breaths was Mutt running alongside her on the riverbank. "Try and kick over to the edge!"

"Can't!" Susanne sputtered.

"Don't be stupid, yes you can! Try! You're not even trying!"

_Son of a bitch._ Susanne thought bitterly, a little more motivated to show just how hard she actually was trying. Stupid...ass...

"Better!" He called, "Little faster though, come on."

She was too distracted by how badly the muscles in her legs were burning to be annoyed anymore. _Need to do this, keep kicking. Come on, Susanne. _She couldn't hear him so easily anymore over a loud roaring in her ears. _What is that? _She turned to look down river - she was a little disoriented so it took her a moment - and she saw mist coming up from the end of the river.

_Wait a minute._ That wasn't an end - river's don't just end -...it was a drop. A waterfall.

"Oh my God." She choked, sputtering when she swallowed more water in her shock. If at all possible, she tried to swim even harder. She was so close. Mutt was kneeling at the edge, reaching for her hands, but Susanne couldn't reach with her hands bound. She started to cry. She wasn't gunna make it! "I can't!"

"Try!" He yelled, frustrated.

The drop was too close now. She gave one last hard kick, threw her arms out towards him and closed her eyes. Her stomach dropped as she felt herself fall for a moment, but then she came to a sudden, lurching halt. She looked down first, screaming when she saw how far down the bottom was. "I'm gunna die! Oh, shit!"

She heard a groan above her, "You're not gunna die."

_Mutt!_

"I need you to help me out here." He added, his voice filled with restraint. He was holding on to the rope around her wrists with one hand while also trying to keep himself from falling as well.

"Okay." Susanne nodded, composing herself long enough to place her feet against the rock siding on the edge of the fall and trying to lift some of the weight. He smiled gratefully, pulling her up while she pushed off the wall.

When Susanne felt solid ground again, she completely lost it. She collapsed onto the ground next to where Mutt lay, trying to catch his breath, and burst into uncontrollable sobs. There was a rustle and she felt gentle fingers carefully working the knots around her wrists before peeling the soaked rope off her wrists, and for once she wasn't staring at Mutt's face or his torso...it was his hands that had captured her attention when he slid his hand into hers. Susanne gripped his hand tightly, crying inconsolably face down on the soft earth, the cool ground felt fantastic against her cheek, her hand fitting so perfectly in his and she wondered why this all had to happen to her. It was stupid and selfish, but she was in shock and the reality of her current situation was hitting her full force with her first real face off with her own possible death.

"It's okay..." Mutt muttered.

Susanne shook her head, turning to glance up at him and sniffling, "No, it's not...it's not..." She wrapped her free arm around his waist burying her face against his chest thoughtlessly, unbelievably grateful to him for saving her now and comforting her twice in times when she might not have been okay if she had been alone. "Thank you."

He rubbed her back soothingly, "Yeah...no problem..."

Susanne smiled through her tears. She heard footsteps and the voices of the Ackart yelling at his guard, Shorty calling her name. She peered up, squinting into the sun tiredly to make out the swarm of faces around them.

"You're lucky she survived." Ackart hissed at the soaked man next to him. "Get the truck."

"Yes, Sir."

Shorty was staring down at them, with that same confused look of betrayal, "Susanne?"

"I'm fine, Shorty." Susanne muttered, too exhausted to process that look on his face. She didn't even bother making any effort to stand or even move an inch from where she lay against Mutt. The poor guy was probably soaked, but he wasn't in any hurry to move either.

"Get up." Ackart demanded, "We need to move quickly now if we want to reach the camp before nightfall."

"C'mon, Suze." Mutt murmured, rising slowly and helping Susanne up as well while Ackart and the remaining German guard stood watch, rifles at the ready for any further attempts at escape.

"I got her." Shorty stated, appearing beside her and wrapping his arm around her waist to help her walk over to the jeep.

"I can walk just fi-"

"Nah, it's okay." He insisted.

Susanne squeezed Mutt's hand, looking over at him sadly, "Thanks." She repeated before releasing his hand reluctantly and letting Shorty pull her over to where the truck was running, waiting for it's remaining passengers.

The camp was a few hours drive from the river and it was dark by the time they finally arrived. Some time during the ride, Susanne had passed out into a deep, dreamless sleep, totally drained by the days events. She felt someone nudge her and she gazed up sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"We're here." Mutt stated.

She nodded, peering around at the others. Shorty was glaring past her at Mutt, again, and judging by the tension in the back of the truck and the single, raised eyebrow of Indiana Jones: the entire ride had been a lot of the same. Sighing, Susanne crawled out of the truck and was led with the others into yet another single level building. She wondered briefly how they managed to find all these places, but then realized she really didn't care that much. A prison was a prison, no matter where they were or how they came by it, and before she knew it, they were once again locked away in another room that was much too small to comfortably house four adults. They were lucky enough to have a window this time, though, so there was moonlight filtering into the room. It also helped just a little that this room wasn't grey and dreary. It was brown and dusty...but still, it was an improvement. No one was really very interested in talking after another failed attempt at a rescue/escape and soon Susanne heard the now familiar sounds of Indy's snores and Shorty's deep, even breathing. Susanne was about to lay back and attempt to fall back asleep when Mutt sat down beside her.

"How you doing?"

She shrugged, "Alright all things considered."

He nodded, "That's good." He paused, looking at anything but her, "Can I ask you something?"

She was so used to his confidence that she was a little surprised that he'd even asked. She was intrigued, "Sure."

"You 'n' Shorty," He nodded at the long, sleeping form of their friend, "Are you guys..."

Susanne caught the implications, "You mean...? No, no, no. Me and Shorty? No. We're just friends." Her hands were shaking.

Again, he just nodded, staring ahead at the opposite wall as if considering something before he turned his head, their eyes meeting, and he grinned, "Good."

She didn't know which of them moved first, but in an instant she was overwhelmed by the smell of leather and sweat and _Mutt. _They were kissing in a way that she had only dreamt of - and until now, she would never have admitted that. She sighed happily, pressing herself against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt one hand slide onto her hip, the other on the back of her neck, holding her against him - although she wouldn't have moved anyway. It was almost as if she had no control over her own body as she laid back on the ground, pulling him down with her. The hand that had formerly been on her neck was pressed firmly against the ground next to her shoulder, holding him so he hovered over her, his thumb massaging her hipbone in slow circles. The kiss was no longer fevered and desperate. It was slow and sensual - dare she even call it...loving? And she couldn't contain the moan that rose in her throat and passed between their lips. She felt his breath as he chuckled, kissing her jaw, her neck -

Shorty moved, muttering her name and they froze.

"Oh, _shit_." She hissed.

**Alright, y'all. that was long and it took me a while to write lol. im talking like over a week. so please, please, please, if you still love me or maybe if you just still like the story: REVIEW!? whatta ya think? was it a good way to come back? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Once again, I'm sorry I took so long to update. This time: My grandfather had a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery, my mother has to have surgery sometime soon, then finals, then it was the holiday season and everyone was home for x-mas so I was out a lot of the time and when I wasn't busy, I was working. So, I really do apologize and I'm excited to get back to work on this bad boy. :)**

Mutt and Susanne remained as they were, as still as they could possibly be. She was even afraid to breathe too loudly, so, without realizing it, she was holding her breath.

"Should I –"

She covered his mouth quickly, "SHHHHH!!!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, glancing anxiously in Shorty's direction. It was a little harder for Susanne to see him, so she watched Mutt instead, her hand holding its post and keeping Mutt from saying anything to give then away. She used only her hearing to try and figure out what was going on. He wasn't saying anything...and from the sounds of it he was...

Snoring.

Her hand fell and she let out a sigh of relief. "That...was close."

"Yeah." He agreed. Susanne was so glad they were both on the same page in thinking that they didn't want Shorty to know about this. Obviously, she had started to catch on to Shorty's – uh – _feelings_ for her, and apparently, Mutt had, too. Having Shorty all messed up by jealousy towards Mutt – more so than he was now – would probably be really bad for their situation. You know how boys are, and in times like these they all needed to stick together.

Then Mutt snickered under his breath.

"What?"

Susanne's stomach fluttered when he grinned crookedly down at her, "He's dreaming about you." He pointed out.

She blinked, not really sure how she felt about that. A little uncomfortable, actually. She knew that she wasn't the kind of girl that guys fought over or dreamed about or _anything_ like that. This was totally new for her. It was so weird. "Uh..."

He rolled off of her, lying back on the ground beside her, his arms folded behind his head. "I don't think it's a dirty one, so I think you should be alright."

She swatted his arm and he laughed, "Ew."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were woken up bright and early by everyone's favourite guard: The Black Haired Man. Immediately upon waking and forming her first coherent thought, Susanne freaked, immediately moving herself quickly away from where she _thought_ Mutt was lying right beside her. But, when she actually saw that there was no one there, she looked around and found Mutt stretching on the other side of the room. Clearly, he was much stealthier than she was and had moved over there sometime after she had fallen asleep. He winked at her.

The Black Haired Man stepped inside and pulled Susanne to her feet – he was obviously still bitter about what had happened yesterday. To be fair, she was the one who almost died so, technically, _she_ was the one who had the most right to be pissed off. Oddly, she was in a fairly good mood, all things considered. Funny how one good thing can make a girl completely forget that she nearly died not twenty-four hours earlier.

Behind her, Mutt and Shorty both stood up, prepared to follow them out, but The Black Haired Man stopped then, grinning, "Just her and Mr. Jones."

"Well, alright." Indy groaned, putting his hat back on properly before hopping to his feet. He squeezed Mutt's shoulder on his way by, "Let's go then."

Susanne shot one more slightly panicked look over her shoulder at Mutt, who looked pretty unimpressed with the whole situation – and let me tell you, no one could look annoyed the way Mutt could – and Shorty had that look of concern he always had when it came to Susanne's safety, before the door to their cell was closed and locked once more and she and Indy were both blindfolded.

As was the usual with their blind walks through our German captor's lairs, they were led around and spun and turned in order to keep them disoriented, so Susanne honestly couldn't tell you where exactly they were taken, before they finally stopped. Susanne's blindfold was removed along with Indy's and she squinted at the bright light in the new room. Ugh, it was so much like the one back in Bad Guy Hideout number one that it made her sick. As in the first room, two uncomfortable looking metal chairs were waiting for them. This room didn't have the big table, though. Just those two chairs. She glanced in Indy's direction to see what he would do – she wasn't much of a leader in situations like this, she had noticed – and when he simply plopped down on the left chair, Susanne didn't hesitate to lower herself in to the one beside it, subtly scooting the chair a little closer to his. Just because it made her feel a bit safer to be close to someone who had done this all before and knew how to kick some serious ass, if it came down to that. Which, she was quickly learning, was often the case with Indiana Jones and his little team.

Ackart stepped through the door, make his dramatic late entrance.

"Mornin'." Indy grinned. Susanne looked at him like he'd lost his mind. He was an odd man.

Ackart smiled, nodding at Indy, "Good morning, Dr. Jones –"He looked at Susanne, "Miss Benton." He stood in front of us and she had to crane her neck in order to look up at him properly, "I trust you both slept well?"

Indy snorted.

"Good." He started circling us. "On to business, then: Why Africa?"

Clearly, this question was directed towards Susanne. She could feel him breathing down her neck, "I honestly have no idea." She insisted, her hands starting to shake again. "I don't even know what you're looking for!"

"Dr. Jones?" Ackart stepped in behind Indy.

"Hey, don't look at me. I didn't know they guy."

"Surely you know of his work."

"I know the rumours." He admitted.

"What rumours?!" I blurted. Ackart gave me a look that clearly said the he didn't believe my ignorance.

"The book, Susanne. Your father had a journal with the key to eternal youth, said to be contained in a formula of sorts. You know nothing about this?"

"That's a joke, right? Immortality...that's...that's not _real_." I looked from Indy to Ackart. "Oh my God...you're serious? I'm telling you, even if there was such a thing my father w-was a scientist! He worked with chemicals and gadgets and all that, not myths and legends! That's not him. Everything he did had to be backed with facts! 'Seeing is believing' kind of thing, you know?"

Ackart stared at him, an amused smile on his face, "You are a stubborn girl..." He mused.

"Please," Susanne insisted, "I swear I don't know anything about any of this!"

Ackart sighed, "I really didn't want to have to do this..." He waved over his men, "Take Dr. Jones back to his room. I need to speak with Miss Benton privately."

"Yes, Sir."

She watched in wide eyed fear as a very reluctant Indy was removed from the room to be taken back to their cell. "You'll be alright!" He called back before the door closed and Susanne was left alone with the terrifyingly large German that she had provoked and injured multiple times now. She gulped.

Mutt and Shorty were waiting quietly when Indy arrived, both shooting up when the door was opened and Indy was thrown back inside. He didn't miss their confused frowns when they noticed that he was alone.

Shorty spoke up, "Where's Susanne?"

Mutt stared at his father intently, waiting for the answer that he had already figured out – he knew that Shorty had probably come to the same conclusion. They just both hoped that they were wrong.

"She wouldn't talk." Indy muttered admiringly.

Mutt cursed.

"That's 'cause she doesn't actually know anything!" Shorty defended, gesturing angrily.

"She should have just made up some bullshit story! Stupid son of a..." Mutt paced.

"Just calm down," Indy soothed, "She'll be fine. Ackart wants her alive and well." He reassured them.

Shorty nodded, taking a deep breath, "Right."

Mutt could smell bullshit – and it was coming off of Indiana Jones. He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at his dad. Indy walked past him, going back to his spot against the wall. Mutt and Shorty both sat in their respective spots, both tense, with their eyes on the door, waiting for Susanne to walk through it.

**Eeeeeehhhhh. Lol**

**Review?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks everyone for your reviews! As someone pointed out: it is pretty unfair of Susanne and Mutt to keep this all a secret from Shorty, but I assure you it is crucial to the plot that I have Shorty as pissed off as humanly possible when he finally does find out about our lovers. And, in their defense, they are keeping it hidden with the best intentions. :) Or. Something. It's what they think is best for the group, really. UNITED FRONT! lol they feel that any negative energy/fighting within the group would be very bad for them in this situation, as you will see later. Jealousy is a bitch, you guys. seriously. Im gunna stop before I spoil my big plot twist. just somethin' to get y'all thinkin' ;)**

**...that and i just freaking LOVE a forbidden/secret romance. it's just that much sexier when it's kind of wrong, ya know? lmao**

**...im just...gunna write now. *slinks away***

_Don't cry - Don't you dare cry!_

Ackart sighed, snapping the belt for emphasis. When Indy had left, Ackart had his guards bind her wrists to the arms of the chair and proceeded to remove his leather belt - let me just say that right then Susanne panicked big time, but thankfully, it wasn't what she had initially thought - and used that as a weapon to cause her great pain. The pain would stop in exchange for information about this supposed Journal that her father had written. The thing is, she had no information, so she couldn't tell him anything. "Miss Benton, I admire your courage. I really do, but -"

Susanne drew a shaky breath, her right and wrist was swollen, bloody and throbbing from his repeated battering, "I don't know anything. Please, let me go - " She screamed when the buckle cracked against her already torn knuckles.

"Don't interrupt." He stated. "Tell me the last thing you can remember about your father."

Susanne felt a tear escape. She sniffed, ashamed of herself and her weakness. Surely Indiana Jones wouldn't have cried, and he'd probably endured much worse pain than this, "I remember..." She gulped, closing her eyes, "I remember that he took me with him on...a sort of dig type of thing -"

"Where?" Ackart demanded loudly, causing Susanne to flinch back.

"I-I don't know...It was on like...like a prairie. Plains, or something. I don't remember the name - I-I was really young..."

Ackart turned away from her, considering this for moment. "Metzger!"

A guard poked his head inside, "Sir?"

"We're finished for now. Take Miss Benton back to her cell. Bring me Dr. Jones - He and I must discuss this new development."

"Yes, sir." The guard stepped inside, untying Susanne's wrists. She clutched her injured hand to her chest as she was led back towards the cell. Along the way, she ripped at the hem of her t-shirt, wanting to wrap the wound somehow or at least clean it up a bit. Biting her lip, she wrapped the torn peice of cloth around her knuckles (they had the most damage) as tight as she could before tucking the free end in to keep the make-shift bandage in place. _Not bad, _she thought as she examined her work. The bruising and the now drying blood still showed, but it didn't look quite so disgusting now that she had wiped it up a bit...

She could see the door to her cell from here and she began preparing herself mentally for what waited on the other side - Mutt would probably be pissed off...and Shorty...ugh: Shorty would go all mushy and start coddling her like a child and asking if she was okay and all that. Which was nice, but stuff like that just made her get all emotional again and she really didn't wanna burst into tears in front of them. That would just be embarrassing. It was bad enough that she had talked, she didn't need to add that to her list of disappointing actions.

The guard stopped in front of the door, stuffing the key into the lock and unlocking it before pulling it open, pushing her inside ahead of him. Both Mutt and Shorty stood immediately when the door opened, staring in her direction. Susanne kept her hand hidden from them, avoiding eye contact, ashamed of herself.

"Dr. Jones, you are to come with me now." The guard stated.

Indy stood up, patting Susanne on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it, kid." He murmured. The door closed behind the pair and Susanne was left alone with the boys.

They swarmed like bees to honey. Shorty beat Mutt to her, though.

"You alright?! Did he hurt you? What'd you say? Did you say anything?" Shorty rambled, inspecting her carefully. Looking past him, Susanne could see Mutt staring at her, his nostrils flared - a clear sign that he was not happy.

"Shorty -" Susanne swatted his hands to stop his inspection, "Can we not do this right now?!" It was mean of her to be so short with him, but...well, to be honest, she had never been tortured before and she really wasn't up to talking about it right away. She needed a moment to calm down and she knew that if she showed any vulnerability, she would have a minor mental breakdown. Plus, she wasn't really ready to confess to her moment of weakness. She was much too ashamed.

Shorty frowned at her, confused by her reaction, "Sure." He nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders carefully to guide her over to the wall so she could sit. She shrugged the arm off her a subtly as possible, not wanting to hurt him any more than she already had when she had snapped on him. It was horrible of her to think it, but she wished he wasn't there. She could feel Mutt watching her and she wanted desperately to just sit with him. Maybe he would even let her curl up against him while he re-dressed her wounded hand, kissing each fingertip separately until she completely forgot about the dull ache in her knuckles...

"What happened to your hand?" She heard him ask pointedly. He wasn't stupid and neither was she: he knew perfectly well what had happened and she knew that he knew.

Shorty, always kind of skittish, stopped and snatched up her hand quickly, looking at it. He glared at her suspiciously, waiting for her answer.

Susanne gave Mutt a pleading look, not taking her eyes off of his, "I fell on the way back here. Scraped up the back of my hand." She muttered quietly, focusing on keeping her voice from breaking. She hoped he went along with her story - or at least got the message that she didn't wanna talk about it right now.

Mutt understood, giving her a simple nod and a meaningful look that clearly meant he wanted to hear the whole story later before turning away and going to sit on the other side of the room, like he always did. Shorty, on the other hand, wasn't as understanding and refused to accept her answer and just drop it, "Really? You fell? Explain to me how you managed to 'scrape' the back of your hand and not the palm of it? Last time I checked, people catch themselves on their palms when they fall - not on their knuckles."

Susanne narrowed her eyes at him, "Drop it."

"What'd he do?!"

"Nothing! What part of 'drop it' is so difficult for you to understand?!" Susanne shrieked - she could feel her eyes welling up with tears already.

"Susanne, if he hurt you, I'll -"

She groaned, "You won't do anything, you know why? Because it's not your job to protect me! It's not your job to avenge me or any of that bullshit, alright? I'm _fine!_And you know what? Even if I wasn't, there's nothing you could do to fix it because you can't change a damn thing! We'd still be in this God forsaken cell in Africa with a bunch of homicidal Nazis! Does that process with you at all?! They would just shoot you so stop trying to be all brave and manly and use your head! Whatever is done is done. Now..." She took a deep breath, her eyes blurring with un-shed tears, "_Please_, just leave me alone."

He stared at her wide eyed but nodded his head.

"Thank you." Susanne huffed, continuing to her spot and lowering herself onto the ground. She sat there, fiddling with her bandage for God knows how long, ignoring the two pairs of eyes fixed on her and loathing herself for the way she had treated Shorty...he was just trying to help...

The door opened once again and the Black Haired guard poked his head inside. He pointed at Shorty, "Dr. Jones requires your assistance."

Shorty peeled himself off the ground, leaving with the guard once his hands had been securely bound behind his back. A few seconds after the door was closed, Susanne watched Mutt slide down to sit next to her. He held out his hand expectantly, "Lemme see."

Susanne placed her swollen hand in his and he carefully peeled off her little bandage. Once the cloth was completely removed, he gulped, reaching for their bucket of drinking water. He poured some water on to the cloth, gently dabbing at the dried blood. "Do I even wanna know what the bastard did?"

Susanne smiled over at him sadly, letting a tear escape as she shook her head. He leaned over, pulling her head to his lips and kissing her forehead.

"It's okay." He muttered. "It's done now, right?" She nodded her head and he went back to work on cleaning up her hand a bit, "Probably hurts like a bitch, though, huh?" He added, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Susanne laughed a little, "Uh - yeah." She watched him rip off one of the sleeves of his t-shirt, using it as her new bandage. "I shouldn't have snapped at him like that..." She sighed.

"He'll get over it."

"They're gunna hate me." She continued.

He glanced up at her, confused, "Why would they hate you?"

"'Cause I caved! I told him - Well, I don't actually know what I said...some random story. Anything I could think of and...I dunno..."

He finished wrapping her hand quickly, peering over at her, "Stop worrying about it. They're not gunna hate you for that. They get it. That's the whole point of torture - to make people talk."

"You wouldn't have caved." Susanne grumbled, fiddling with her new bandage.

"I'm not very smart."

She snorted, rolling her eyes at him. He moved in quickly, pressing his lips against hers. She didn't think she'd ever really get used to having Mutt kiss her like this. It would always catch her by surprise - like this all isn't real and she'll wake up the next morning with him ignoring her again and making snarky comments about her bad driving or something like that. Absently, she moved with him when he tried to pull back, not quite ready to end the kiss yet. He laughed, putting his hands against the sides of her face and holding her in place so he could pull away. He grinned down at her, all knowing and self assured.

Susanne glared at him, "What?"

He didn't answer for a moment, swooping in to give her another chaste kiss, "Nothin'." He shrugged.

"I hate you." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly.

Mutt's eyes shot over to the door when he hear a key in the lock. Her squeezed her good hand reassuringly once before getting to his feet to go back to his spot. He gave her a wink over his shoulder as he went, "I know."

**we had a tad more action in this chapter :) but not much...**

**im sorry! I promise, there will be more fighting and what not coming soon! haha**

**but, for now, i hope a little torture and plot movement can satisfy you until then :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Early the following morning, the Nazis packed up their things and they moved out once more, continuing this time on foot through the trees. Apparently, there were no roads going in the direction they needed to go. To Susanne, this seemed strange. The rest of the surrounding forest had many roads through it, why not in this direction? She also did not miss how, this time, none of their hands were bound and Indy was sent into the trees ahead of the rest of the group. From the look on his face, he had no intention of trying to escape. He kept his eyes peeled as he led them forward.

"Stay close." Mutt murmured before walking a bit ahead of her. Shorty stayed close behind her - almost as if they had planned to do things this way to protect her. Around them, every man was carrying a gun in their hands - with the exception of Mutt, Indy, and Shorty, of course. The group stayed relatively close together.

The further into the trees they went, the colder it got. Susanne crossed her arms over her chest, gingerly, making sure she didn't unintentionally cause any further damage to her already injured and severely swollen hand. The dense trees allowed them to see close to nothing in front of or around them, which made the men focus all of their attention on the sounds and movements of others. Susanne got the distinct impression that there was something she hadn't been told and she glared at Mutt's back, figuring he must have spoken with Indy and Shorty sometime during the night while she had been asleep. She was a little offended that they hadn't bothered to explain to her what was going on.

"It's freezing!" She hissed to herself in disbelief. Mutt must have heard her, because a second later a black leather jacket came flying back in her direction unexpectedly. She shrieked in surprise, loosing her footing and stumbling for a moment. These actions must have scared the hell out of the guards because all at once she could hear shot guns being cocked from all around, many being pointed in her direction. She raised her hands sheepishly in surrender, bending slowly to pick up the jacket off the ground, "Sorry..." Man, were they ever jumpy!

Mutt shook his head, chuckling to himself, as he turned back around, pulling a comb out of his back pocket to fix his hair. The guards and grumbled to one another, annoyed.

Indy, however, kept his eyes on the forest surrounding them. "Just hope no one else heard that." He stated before continuing the way he was headed.

This both confused and scared Susanne. Who else would have heard it? Were they being followed? She fell back to talk with Shorty, knowing that Mutt probably wouldn't tell her anything. "So...what's going on?" She whispered, getting the impression that she should try to be quiet.

Shorty took his time replying, surveying the trees for a while before finally asking: "What do you mean?"

Susanne raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? Didja think I wouldn't notice that all of the sudden everyone is on guard and _seriously_ jumpy? And why aren't there roads over here? _And why the hell is it so dark_?! -" This was something that had just occurred to her. It was mid-morning and it looked like it was at least eight o'clock at night. "What's going on?" She repeated.

"Stupid superstitions, that's all." Shorty replied quickly, going back to watching the trees.

"Uh huh." She waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she moved on to plan B. She gave Shorty one last glare before speeding up to catch up with Mutt. "Hey...So-"

"I'm not gunna tell you either." He interrupted, grinning down at her, "Nice try, though."

"Fine. I'll go ask Indy." Susanne stated, moving to pass him on the outside by cutting through the bushes on their right and catch up with Indiana.

"No!" Mutt grabbed her upper arm at the precise moment that Susanne caught sight of something moving at lightning speed in the trees beside her. The group stopped, every gun pointing in that direction.

"What was that?!" She breathed, reaching up the grab the arm that had reached out for her.

He gulped, shaking his head, "I dunno." He pulled her back toward him, keeping his eyes on the spot where the movement had occurred.

"_No one is to go outside the perimeter_!" Ackart's voice boomed angrily from behind them.

Susanne nodded her head frantically to show that she understood. She wouldn't make that mistake again and she wondered now more than ever just what the hell was going on in this forest. The darkness, the sudden cold, that impossibly fast..._thing_. She gulped, realising that she actually had no idea what that had been. It had all happened so fast that no one had caught a glimpse of it. She was shaking now, even with Mutt's leather coat on.

"I won't let anything hurt you." Mutt muttered reassuringly to her, noticing that she was trembling.

Susanne nodded again, gulping before taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Her fears were completely irrational. It was just a forest. The guns were just in case they stumbled upon any wild animals, that's all...

"We need to keep moving." Indy said, "I want to try to find a clearing or something before nightfall."

"We won't be able to get through before then?" Ackart asked.

Indy grinned crookedly, "Not a chance." He began pushing his way through the trees again as he continued, "But we'll need to find a clear place to camp out. It'll be safer than sleeping amongst the trees." He glanced over his shoulder, "Either way, we'll have to keep watchmen up at all times."

"How will we tell when it's night?" One of the guards called, "It's almost pitch black in here already!"

"Trust me: we'll know."

The continued on for hours and hours without stopping. No one strayed again after the incident with Susanne. Her legs began to grow tired and there was very little conversation amongst the group. The air around them was filled with pure anxiety and tension. Almost tangible fear. Susanne couldn't stop shivering and she regretted having to cut off her pant legs back when she had crashed on Mutt's bike.

That seemed so long ago, now...

Luckily, they had no more encounters with any other creatures that may have been lurking in the forest and around about seven-thirty they finally stepped out in to a small clearing and Susanne breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be out of the trees and to finally be able to rest. It was brighter in the clearing, but the sun was setting fast.

Seeing that Indy wasn't planning on going any further tonight, Ackart stated that they would set up camp here tonight and continue their hike in the morning. He instructed five guards to set up a perimeter around the camp and then proceeded to tell the rest of them that they would work shifts during the night, switching every couple of hours. "Anyone who falls asleep during their watch will be shot." He finished before sending a group of them off to finish setting up the tents. The more the sun faded, the louder the rustling in the forest became. They started to hear strange noises - almost like whispers. Or scratching...Susanne assumed this is what Indy had been referring to when he said they'd know when night had arrived.

As soon as their tent was built, Indy ushered Susanne and the two younger men inside. Susanne noticed that they didn't have a guard, and that didn't make her feel any better about the strange forest surrounding them. It was like Ackart knew that they wouldn't be stupid enough to run out into the trees without protection. She pounced on her opportunity to ask Indy what was up once they had all settled in. "What's the deal with this forest? What's out there?"

Mutt and Shorty shared a brief look before Indy spoke. "African legends say that this part of the forest is haunted by an ancient curse that was cast upon the resting place of the Book of Eternal life - the book your father allegedly wrote. It is said that all of this used to be savanna - the forest sprung up overnight - and that it is inhabited by creatures so terrifying that the Gods themselves would never dare look upon them. The book is somewhere in this forest - the closer we get, the more dangerous the forest becomes. These creatures are the protectors of the book: whoever takes it is doomed to be haunted by them until the book is return to it's place." He chuckled then, breaking the tense silence, "Your dad really didn't want anyone to get their hands on this book."

"Why didn't he burn it?" Mutt asked, frowning.

Susanne snorted, "If I knew my dad at all, it's because he was too proud." She glanced over at Indy, who nodded in agreement, "This was his life's work. He probably wouldn't have been able to stand seeing it be destroyed."

"Lucky for us." Shorty joked sarcastically.

"We should try to get some sleep." Indy suggested, laying back on the cool ground and pulling his hat down over his eyes, "We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Susanne nodded, laying back on the ground an acceptable distance from both Mutt and Shorty. Although, if it had been up to her, she wouldn't have been so far from Mutt. But for the sake of internal piece in their little group, she kept her distance, settling instead for the smell of his leather jacket. Exhausted from the long hike, she soon fell asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness throughout the night, restlessly. Indy's story was causing her to have nightmares and for that reason, she wasn't sleeping well.

It was because of the nightmare she'd been having that she hadn't registered the first scream. But then another came, and soon lights were all around the camp. Mutt and Indy both scrambled to their feet, running to help. Shorty and Susanne moved to follow them but Mutt held out a hand to signal them to stop, "You stay with her!" He told Shorty. Shorty agreed, happy to stay behind and keep Susanne safe. She, however, was too scared for the others. She crawled to the mouth of the tent, trying to see what was going on. Shorty kept a hand on her shoulder to make sure she didn't run after them.

She flinched when one of the German guards was snatched from his post, flying back into the dense forest so fast that the echo of his scream hadn't even faded before he was completely out of sight. Eyes wide, Susanne watched as Ackart and his men loaded their shotguns, shooting blindly into the trees at an unseen creature. The only clue to where it would be next was the swaying of the branches when it moved - they could only guess at its exact position. She searched the crowd of men for Mutt and Indy. She found Mutt near the edge of the trees. He had spotted an abandoned rifle on the ground where one of the guards had been snatched and was moving in to grab it. He picked it up, cocking it, before beginning to back up again, barrel pointed in to the trees. She saw something that appeared to be a pale hand shoot out to the bushes near his feet and grip his ankle, pulling him to the ground and dragging him into the trees.

"_No_!" Susanne screamed, trying to run out to help him. Shorty held strong, though, and no matter how much she kicked and scratched, he wouldn't let her go.

**alrighty. i'm tired and that seemed like a nice cliffhanger  
i kind of liked this chapter lol.  
as usual, i apologize for any typos. please review! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**First off:**

**Let me begin by thanking everyone who reviewed! you guys are so awesome and supportive and I love it. haha  
but, it appears I have some explaining to do:**

**1. "Where the frick is Marion"?: Marion, my friends, will appear later in the story and will play a very crucial role lol we'll just say, for now, that she was busy when Mutt and Indy went off on their little mission. she'll pop up later. :) i couldn't see her in the story while it was going because her character would have been neglected, if I'm going to be completely honest. In this story, if you haven't noticed, even Indy is a secondary character and Marion is already secondary in the series and her and Indy's relationship would have had to come second to the Susanne/Mutt relationship, since that is the main relationship in my story, so it just seemed like a waste of a character to have Marion with them through this whole thing. But don't worry. I have a wicked entrance planned for her later on. :D**

**2. Susanne's shaking: She tends to shake when she's scared and/or nervous. it's nothing super important, just a little character tick.**

**3. Shorty's crush on Susanne: Someone said they didn't think this was working (or something to that nature). I'm kind of agreeing with you. See, I made the mistake of making Shorty WAY too nice/passive for my original purpose so I'm reconsidering Shorty's plot angle unless I can fix a few things with that character haha. I'm working on that. HOPEFULLY I can continue in the direction I wanted to initially because it was quite angsty and I'm a sucker for angst haha. I'll have to mess around with him just a bit...might have to go to great lengths to turn him into the character i want him to be. this could get messy, kids. :P**

**i hope i cleared some things up with you guys. :) feel free to ask if you have any other questions or concerns - im all ears. The story is, after all, nothing without readers. Am I right? I am. I know.**

**OH! i have a question for YOU GUYS!**

**One of you (im so sorry i dont have user names lmao) said you wanted to see Mutt and Susanne's relationship get a little steamier. Exactly how steamy do you want it to get? haha this is a serious question though. How steamy do you guys want? Do I need to up the rating on this bad boy? LEMME KNOW!**

Susanne struggled against Shorty until her torn knuckles were ripped open and bleeding again, "Let me _go_!" Seeing that she was getting no where, she frantically scanned the camp for Indy. Spotting him, she yelled, trying to get his attention, "Dr. Jones!" He didn't react - he must not have heard her. Eyes welling up, she tried again, louder, "INDY!" She cried, desperate. She was too trapped by her own fear to notice that Shorty, too, was screaming to get Indiana's attention.

It worked this time and Indy looked in their direction, "What? What's wrong?!"

Susanne found herself unable to form the words as she pointed wildly at the spot where Mutt had been dragged into the trees.

"They took Mutt!" Shorty yelled, pointing in that direction as well.

Indy moved faster than Susanne had ever seen a man his age move, bolting for the spot and running into the trees without hesitation. Ackart ordered a group of his men to follow him. Susanne stared at the spot, not really knowing when to expect Indy to emerge. How far could the creature have gotten with Mutt? How far would it bother to drag him before...

She gulped, not wanting to even consider that possibility. She'd stopped struggling and her hands were shaking more than they ever had as she tried her hardest not to cry. This was really the first time she'd been faced with the possibility of losing someone she cared about. The idea terrified her and she was grateful when Shorty gripped her hand almost too tight. He was clearly worried as well - Mutt was his friend, after all. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled to show her appreciation before returning her attention to the trees. The longer it took for them to return the harder she squeezed his hand. It became even more difficult for her to keep her tears at bay.

"Shit, we should fix your hand..." Shorty suggested, tugging her hand to signal that she should come back into the tent further for him to fix it.

She pulled her hand away, shaking her hand, "N-no. It can wait. I want to make sure he's okay." Her voice cracked as she spoke. "W-we should be out there helping Indy find him or something - instead of just s-sitting here, doing nothing..."

"Dr. Jones will find him." Shorty stated reassuringly.

It wasn't so much that she doubted whether or not Indy would find Mutt, it was the sort of condition Mutt would be in once he was found that scared her. What if Indy took too long to get to him?

"Aussehen!"

"Sie kommen zurück!"

Seizing her opportunity, Susanne bolted out of the tent while Shorty's grip was slackened upon hearing the commotion outside and seeing German soldiers running towards the trees. Shorty followed right behind as the pair sprinted after the group of men to meet Indy and the others. Susanne shoved her way through, "Mutt?!"

"Dr. Jones needs a doctor!" One of the guards yelled, seeing blood soaking through Indy's shirt.

"It's not mine! Move it, will ya?!" She heard Indy only inches away from her - only two men stood between her and Mutt.

Susanne pushed in between the German's, her heart stopping when she saw all the blood. Her hand flew to her mouth, "Oh my God!" She ran forward, walking alongside Mutt's limp form while Indy and three other guards carried him further into camp. His face was covered in blood from a gash just above his right eye and his hands were covered in long, bloody cuts and developing bruises.

"He'll be okay, kid." Indy reassured her, seeing the look on her face and the tears in her eyes. Indy and the German's carried Mutt back to their tent. Shorty held open the flap while they carried him inside and laid him on the ground. "Get outta here," Indy snapped, shoving one of the guards out of the way so he could examine to gash on Mutt's head, "They should be finished for tonight - they took enough men to satisfy them until tomorrow." He stated, referring to the creatures in the trees.

With that, the Germans exited the tent and Shorty hurried inside, letting the flap fall shut behind him.

"It's not that bad..." Indy stated, grinning up at the two anxious youths. "We should clean him up a bit, though. Before it gets infected." He pulled himself to his feet, ducking out of the tent to get water to clean Mutt's wounds.

Susanne couldn't stop staring at him. Seeing him covered in blood like that was like a bad nightmare come to life. She wished he'd wake up - it looked too much like he was dead when he was laying there unconscious, looking as awful as he did. Although, because Indy had said that it wasn't that bad, she kept telling herself that it must look a lot worse than it really was.

Indy returned with a bucket of water and some bandages that he must have either stolen or convinced the German's to give him. He pulled two wet cloths out of the bucket, wringing them out before handing one to Shorty as well as a roll of bandages, gesturing at Susanne's bleeding knuckles, "Fix that up for me, wouldja?"

"Of course." Shorty took the cloth and bandages and Susanne absently held out her hand for him to work on, watching as Indy carefully cleaned the blood off Mutt's face before turning his attention to the wound on his forehead.

"What do you think happened to him?" She asked finally.

Indy shrugged, "He'll tell us when he wakes up." He nodded down at Mutt's hands, "But I'm assuming those cuts are from trying to find something to grab on to. Ya know, to try and pull himself out of it's grip." He chuckled, "The kid's a fighter..."

Susanne smiled slightly, "Did you see anything? I mean...did you see the thing that grabbed him?"

Indy's smile disappeared then, "For a second."

"...And? What'd you see?!"

Shorty finished with Susanne's hand, looking up to hear what Dr. Jones would say.

"Uh - it was pale. Tall, thin..." Indy shook his head, taping a bandage over the cut on Mutt's forehead.

"It?" Shorty repeated.

"Yeah. I couldn't tell if it was human or not."

"You probably didn't get a very good look," Susanne concluded, "I mean, obviously they're fast -"

"No, I saw it." Indy interrupted, looking up at the pair, "I _couldn't tell_."

The tent was silent as he let this sink in, moving on to cleaning the blood and dirt off of Mutt's hands. Eventually, though, he broke the silence, "Susanne, do you wanna clean off that hand on your side?" Shorty handed her the rag he'd been using and Indy passed her the bucket so she could clean her blood off of it as best as she could, "Thanks." He smiled at her.

Susanne nodded, smiling back. She cleaned off the rag until it was almost white again before she picked up his hand and began dabbing at the semi-dried blood and dirt. She was taking much more care with him than Indy was, but as the blood was cleared away she could see the many different scratches along the back of his hand and on his palm as well as the purpling bruises. Every one of them served as another tiny reminder to her of how close he had been to being killed. If Indy hadn't have found him when he did, she was sure Mutt wouldn't be here right now. She beamed over at Indy and he winked at her, understanding. He was a smart guy - didn't miss a thing. She was becoming quite fond of him.

Indy dropped his rag back into the bucket once he was finished, "Good as new." He yawned, "I'm gunna try to get some sleep. Like I said: got another long day tomorrow."

Shorty, obviously tired, laid down without argument, "G'night Dr. Jones."

"Night, Short Round." Indy grumbled, setting his hat on the ground beside him.

"Goodnight Susanne." Shorty muttered, already half asleep.

"Night, Shorty." Susanne smiled at him before turning back to Mutt. She was almost done with the hand, taking her time with it. This was the closest she would get to any alone time with him tonight - although it would have been better spent had he been awake, but she did the best she could with what she had. Soon, she heard Shorty's familiar snores coming from behind her as she wiped off the last of the dirt and blood. She set his hand down again and just looked at him. She still had his jacket - thank God, because if it had been his leather coat that had gotten covered in blood instead of his t-shirt he would have been pissed - and she played with the cuff of the leather sleeve absently, biting her lip. She glanced over her shoulder at Shorty before laying down beside Mutt, snuggling in as close as she could. She smiled, laying her head against his shoulder.

"You sure that's a good idea?"

Susanne shot up again. Mutt's eyes were open marginally, looking in her direction as he raised an eyebrow. "You're awake!" Without thinking she threw herself over him to embrace him but pulled away quickly when he drew a sharp breath - a clear sign that she'd hit something that hurt. "Sorry!" She whispered, wanting to keep her voice down so no one else woke up. Call her selfish, but she kind of wanted him to herself right now. She grinned when he asked if _she_ was okay and she leaned over him, careful not to bump him again. She nodded her head before kissing him gently, "Now I am."

**mushy gushy chapteeerrr. haha  
i couldn't keep mutt away too long. i love him too much haha**

**didja like it? yes? no? review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**BWAHA!**

**i think it's about time for an update, doncha think? I do. SO! Thanks, as usual, to everyone who reviewed. A very special thank you goes to my new bud noz4a2! Your interest in my story is seriously the biggest motivation to write that i have ever gotten. I love to see people who care about where this is going and what's happening to the characters - so, seriously, thank you so much. It makes me believe that maybe i have at least a bit of talent. :P**

**Much love to everyone! **

**and now, it's time to check in on how Mutt's doing...**

Susanne woke to an annoying prodding in her side. She groaned, swatting away at the culprit, "Stooop..." She groaned, snuggling in closer to Mutt - her human-sized teddy bear. _Wait..._Her eyes shot open and she sat up, scooting away from Mutt quickly, grinning sheepishly over at Shorty and Indiana, who were both very much awake and all ready to continue their hike through the haunted forest.

"Mornin'." Indy chirped, grinning crookedly down at her.

Susanne waved a hand in his direction, blushing furiously. She glanced over at Mutt who had managed to prop himself up on his elbows - although, judging by the grimace, it wasn't without pain and effort.

"Feeling better, Mutt?" Shorty asked, rocking back on his heels and glaring between the two of them.

Mutt just shrugged, smirking, "Yeah, thanks."

Susanne didn't really know what to say as she scratched the back of her head. She cast a sidelong glance at Mutt, looking to him for ideas and support. He was just watching to see how she would handle it - he was a bit of an asshole that way. She knew he liked to see her squirm. Glancing back at Shorty, she bit her lip, shrugging, "Uhm...surprise?" She heard Mutt snort beside her but she refused to look at him. The jerk.

"We should get going." Shorty mumbled before disappearing through the opening in the tent.

Susanne groaned, falling back onto the ground, covering her face with her hands. She knew she should probably go and talk to Short Round, but she just didn't really want to deal with him right now. It wasn't like she'd done anything wrong - okay, well..._maybe_ keeping the whole thing a secret from him was wrong - but, in general, it really wasn't that big of a deal and he had absolutely no right to be mad at her. None what-so-ever.

Somehow, though, she still felt guilty.

She sat up again, looking over at Mutt and pointing in the direction Shorty had gone, "Maybe I should...?"

"Maybe." He agreed. "I'm sure pops over there can help me out."

Indy chuckled, "Sure thing."

With that, Susanne pulled herself to her feet, brushing the dirt and dead grass on the back of her overalls before heading out to find Shorty. No German paid her much attention as she walked - well, except for the Black Haired guard, but it was sort of his job to keep an eye on them. He'd always struck her as being a bit of a creep, but she had begun to learn to ignore him. She found Shorty sitting by the pit where there had been a fire the previous night, poking absently at the burnt logs with a stick.

"Mind if I join you?"

He shrugged and Susanne took that as an invitation to sit. She plopped down beside him, watching him draw shapes in the ashes. "You and Mutt, huh?" He muttered after a moment.

She nodded her head, "Yup."

"How'd that happen? I always kind of got the impression that you hated him."

"I don't hate him -"

He snorted, "Apparently."

"Oh, give me a break - You're pissed off at me over this? Really?" She shook her head, "_I'm sorry I don't hate him_." She snapped sarcastically. She sighed, then, when he didn't speak up. "Look, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, you know, about you and me. We're just friends, Shorty..." It was awkward, having this sort of conversation with someone. She wasn't really used to it.

He sighed, "I kind of figured as much."

Susanne frowned, "Really? Then...why the temper tantrum?"

Shrugging, he tossed the stick aside and finally looked over at her, "I'm more offended that you guys didn't tell me. "

"Well, if it's any consolation, we didn't tell Dr. Jones either - he just kind of figured it out."

"...it helps."

"We just didn't want you to get all upset - kind of like you are now." She tried to explain. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." She looked around the camp, watching the German's pack up their tents. She spotted Mutt and Indy trying their best to take down their own tent, although they seemed to be having some trouble, seeing as Mutt could hardly move without wincing. Poor guy. He looked over at them and she smiled, waving. Shorty sighed, getting to his feet. Susanne squinted up at him, "I don't want you to hate me, Shorty."

"I don't hate you." He said before heading back over to help out with the tent. She didn't miss how Shorty immediately went to Indy's side - assisting him and not the person who really needed the help.

Shaking her head, Susanne stood up. "I don't want you to hate him, either..." She muttered under her breath.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It wasn't long before they were back in amongst the trees, continuing their search. Susanne stayed close to Mutt and the pair of them had sagged closer to the back of the group, since Mutt couldn't move as fast as usual. Shorty avoided them altogether, walking way ahead at the very front with Dr. Jones. He was being a little immature, but Susanne was more than willing to give him his space. In time, she was sure that he would come around and see how ridiculous he was being.

"Can you tell me what happened, now?" She asked, referring to the previous night. She had asked Mutt during the night while they had both been awake, but he hadn't really been interested in talking about it just yet. She understood - but he'd had enough time now and she was impatient: she wanted to know what had happened.

"Suze -" She hardly even noticed the use of her most hated nick-name anymore. Actually, coming from him, she was kind of beginning to like it. Although, to be honest, Mutt could call her anything and she would probably like it..." - I was unconscious for most of it..."

"Well, tell me what you remember!"

"It's not much of a story - " He saw the look on her face that clearly said she wasn't going to let this go and he sighed in defeat. "The thing grabbed me. It dragged me for a bit - they're strong sons-of-bitches, I couldn't get it off of me - and..." Susanne was actually surprised to see he was turning red. Mutt doesn't blush - ever. "Ihitmyheadonatree."

"What?"

He rolled his eyes, exasperated, lowering his voice so the others wouldn't hear, "I hit my head...on a tree..."

Susanne blinked up at him for a moment, trying very, _very_ hard not to laugh. She failed miserably and was soon doubled over laughing, "You...hit...a _tree?_"

"I almost died!"

As awful as it sounds, she laughed harder, "I can't believe you hit your head on a tree - I was expecting some big, epic battle between you and the creepy forest creature and you..." She covered her mouth to smother the sound of her laughter, "I'm sorry - I shouldn't laugh..."

"No, you shouldn't." He huffed.

She made an exaggerated pouty face at him, speaking in a baby voice, "Awe, I'm sowwy. I'm very happy you didn't die." She snickered, grabbing his hand. They walked in silence for a bit before she glanced over at him - he was still avoiding her gaze. "It is kind of funny, though."

"Susanne!"

"Sorry!"

**(sigh) i'd almost forgotten how easily this story flows out of me now. haha  
i struggle so much with my newer stories and this one is like coming home. so easy.  
it's my baby. haha  
(end gushing)**

**sorry it was such a short chapter, though.  
i gotta plot my next move haha****  
please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I come bearing a peace offering: I made a story banner for this story - because I missed it. It's of Mutt and Susanne! So, if any of you are still reading/wondering what Susanne looks like - she's posted there now! Go check it out, and forgive my disappearance. **

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT!!!!! I don't get too graphic, but ya. Just a warning. **

No one was stupid enough to break formation during this trek through the dangerous, dark, cold jungle. They had truly learned their lesson the night before, and Susanne could clearly notice, now, how many men they had actually lost in their battle. Glancing sidelong at Mutt, whose jaw was set in a determined line while he tried to move through the pain, she wondered how many more would be lost in Ackart's insane quest for this Book of Eternal Life. Was it worth all those lives? Was it worth the possible nightly massacres that they would certainly encounter the longer they spent amongst the haunted trees, at the hands of the tormented creatures who called this jungle their home? She didn't think so - but, apparently, the book seemed way too damn appealing to everybody's favorite Nazi psychopath. They'd been walking for hours, without rest, and everyone was exhausted - she somehow doubted that anyone got any sleep the night before.

"This is bullshit," She heard Mutt grumble under his breath. He was limping noticably, now, all color drained from his face, and she worried that maybe Dr. Jones had missed another wound.

"Did you hurt your leg?" She asked quietly, referring to his encounter with the creature last night.

"The thing grabbed my damn ankle, Suze! You saw how fast they are! Imagine having your ankle tied with a rope, which is then tied to a car, then the driver floors it, yanks you off your feet, then proceeds to drag you along by the same ankle that is already probably hurtin' pretty bad. Ya - I'd say I hurt my leg."

She winced, "Oh," He was being snappy, but she chose not to take it personally. He'd had one hell of a night and was clearly in a lot of pain with no visible light at the end of the tunnel - they were all a little moody, anyway, at this point. She stopped walking and crossed her arms, "Do you want me to take a look at it?"

"'S'not gunna do it any good."

"Taking break from walking will."

Mutt sighed in annoyance, "Fine," and complied, stopping and turning to face Susanne, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

Susanne glared at him, "Quit being an ass - sit down!"

Rolling his eyes, Mutt plopped himself down on the ground, looking behind him warily. Their Black Haired guard as well as a few others had stopped with them to make sure they didn't try to escape - and, also, to protect Susanne from another attack. They still needed her - for whatever reason. Even though he had been being difficult about Susanne insisting that he rest, Mutt gave a sigh of relief, his ankle throbbing. It felt fantastic to take the weight off it. He laid back, closing his eyes and trying to just relax his sore muscles for a moment. He didn't feel too great. His head was aching, his stomach turning, his mouth dry, his ears ringing constantly...

Susanne knelt at his feet, yanking up his bloody (this alarmed Susanne momentarily - how had she missed that?) pant leg so she could properly examine the damage the creature's impossibly strong grip had inflicted. She had to remind herself to keep any overreaction to herself when she saw how dark and swollen it was. She could clearly trace her fingers along the purpled shape of a long, skeletal hand print, each fingertip ending in a small cut where the beast's nails had cut in to Mutt's flesh. Not realising she'd actually been touching his wounds, Susanne jumped when Mutt hissed in pain.

"Jesus - quit poking at it!"

"I-I," She stammered, "W-Well..." She gulped.

He sat up abruptly, yanking his jeans back in to place, "What the hell, Susanne?! Jesus Christ."

"I'm sorry!"

"Just..." He ran a hand over his face, "Just don't touch me, alright?!"

That stung, and Susanne recoiled, frowning, "Mutt-"

He pulled himself upright, sighing, "Whatever - it's fine. I just..." He paused and swallowed, with some effort, suddenly able to add dizzy to his list of symptoms, "...I think I'm gunna be sick."

"What?"

He nodded his head in confirmation, "Ugh - I'm gunna hurl," With that warning, he doubled over, throwing up bile, stomach acid, and what looked like...

_Blood!_

_"DR. JONES!_" Susanne shrieked, horrified. She reached out to him, and Mutt swatted her hand away, growling:

"I said _don't touch me!_"

Susanne could feel tears stinging her eyes. Why was he acting like this? She knew Mutt could be an ass - but, usually, it was in good humor. Why the sudden hostility? What had she done wrong? She replayed any and every recent conversation they'd had, every action of hers, trying to find something that may have upset him so much. Stepping away from him, she backed right in to Short Round, who clutched her shoulders tightly, watching his friend continue to cough up blood and dry heave.

"What's wrong with him?!" Shorty asked when Indy pushed his way through the group that had gathered around Mutt.

"I don't know!" Indy called back, hands hovering over Mutt uncertainly, "You alright, Kid?"

"Piss off, old man..."

"He's just trying to help!" Susanne frowned, sniffling slightly.

"I don't need help," Mutt shook his head frantically, pushing off the ground and stumbling to his feet, "I'm fine - I just need to lay down. We should get moving."

Everyone blinked in his direction, all frightened and confused - no one more so than Susanne - but the crowd soon dispersed, some muttering prayers under their breath, and the group continued on their way. Susanne shot Mutt a glance filled with hurt, confusion, and worry, before she let Shorty lead her ahead while Indy hung back to help Mutt along.

* * *

Indiana and Short were in Ackart's tent, discussing how best to carve their way through the jungle, planning and what not. They had set up their camp in the first clearly they'd come across, Indy refusing to go any further until he was sure his son was alright to continue. Mutt was being kept separate from the rest of camp - in case whatever he had was contagious, which left Susanne alone with her thoughts. Immediately, she'd decided that her best bet would be to attempt to fall asleep as soon as possible. She would rather be at the mercy of her dreams (or nightmares) than at the mercy of the 'why's and 'what if's that plagued her mind. She wasn't having much success, but she stubbornly kept her eyes shut tight, beginning to count in hopes that her mind would simply shut down from the boredom.

There was a rustle nearby, and Susanne's eyes shot open. There was a shadow outside the flap of her tent - a guard she assumed - but, to her horror, the shadow grew larger, creeping closer. Slowly, quietly, she sat up, watching whoever-it-was approach. Her eyes flicked over the inside of her tent, searching for a weapon, but sge found nothing (the Germans wouldn't allow Indiana Jones to keep weapons in his tent). She gulped, watching, helpless, and a hand curled around the tent flap and pulled it aside.

Susanne managed to scream for only a second before a hand clamped over her mouth, the cool blade of a pocket knife pressed against her throat. She continued to scream, but the sound was muffled by the clammy hand of her attacker.

"Verhalten Sie sich ruhig, oder ich werde Ihren Hals gleiten lassen(1)!" The voice hissed. Susanne couldn't understand the words exactly, but the threat was emphasized by the blade being pressed harded against her neck. She nodded her head hurriedly, tears streaming down her cheek, assuming whatever he'd said meant 'shut up or die' in German.

Blinking through her tears, Susanne recognized the Black Haired guard who smiled down at her, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "Gut, meine Schönheit(2) - my lovely," He cooed. Susanne squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing now, willing it all to be a horrible nightmare.

"Please," She begged when he removed his hand.

He simply shook his head, still smiling, brushing her hair back, "Shh, lovely - er war in unserem Weg, aber ich sah ihn an Ihnen brüllen - er sollte nicht an Ihnen brüllen - er sorgt sich über Sie nicht, nicht wie tue ich. Ich sehe, wie Sie auf mich, meine Schönheit schauen(3). He was only in the way."

Susanne froze, eyes wide, "Mutt?" She breathed, "You...you didn't..." Maybe he'd been poisoned! This insane man had poisoned Mutt under some dilusional belief that they could be together if he was out of the picture! She struggled, bawling, "If you hurt him -"

"It was the work of God, not I," The Black Haired German soothed, "Hurting him would hurt you - I knew that, my lovely - but God has given us this gift, this sign! The boy is ill - He wishes for us to be together!" The hand that had been stroking her hair trailed down the side of her face, over her neck, collarbone, groping down her torso -

"You're insane - get off me!" She gave a yelp at the knife cut in to her flesh.

"You will be _quiet, I-_" He froze, mid-sentence, a look of shock on his face.

Susanne panted, but scurried away from him when he lost his grip on the knife he'd had at her throat. Her savior - _Mutt..._ - hauled him off of her, and dragged him out of the tent. Susanne almost didn't notice the handle of Mutt's pocket knife protruding from the man's back. She sat, shaking, regaining her self control, calming her breathing, staring blankly ahead until Mutt returned. He didn't hesitate, didn't speak - only rushed forward, dropped to his knees, and scooped her in to his arms.

"You're okay, you're fine - right?" He spoke quickly, voice rough, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lost it on you - I should've been here."

Susanne threw her arms around him, "It's okay, I'm okay - Are you okay?!"

He rested his forehead against her shoulder, shaking his head, "I don't know," She felt moisture soaking her t-shirt and she gripped him tighter, realising he was crying.

"Mutt," She muttered breathlessly, "You're scaring me."

He pulled away, staring in to her eyes intently, cupping her face in his hands. He sniffed, pulling himself together, "There's something...There's something wrong with me, Suze. I don't know what it is, but it's bad - it's really bad, I can feel it. I can't control it," Susanne sobbed, clutching at his leather jacket, "It'll get worse - whatever it is - I don't know what I'll do, or if I'll be able to hold it back like this again, but no matter what I say, what I do - "

"I love you," She blurted.

He grinned at her, then laughed a little, "You do?"

She nodded, blushing, a little embarrassed, "Y-Ya, I think I do."

He laughed again, pulling her toward him and pressing his lips against hers in a bruising kiss. She ran her hands over his back, through his carefully combed hair, touching his face, his neck. Pulling him down with her as she lay out on her temporary bed, she broke the kiss while he trailed gentle love bites over her jaw and collarbone, "Don't leave me," She breathed, kissing his temple.

He paused, his warm, callused hand sliding beneath the hem of her shirt. She felt his lips move against her skin when he spoke and it gave her goosebumps, "I'll try."

She groaned, wanting to cry, but too swept up in...whatever this _feeling_ was - to do it, "That's not good enough," She pulled him up again so she could kiss him properly while she slid his jacket off his shoulders. He tossed the coat aside and moved away briefly to pull his shirt up over his head. He grinned down at her and let the thin, white garment fall to the ground next to him. Looking up at him, watching his muscles flex as he supported his weight over her, she couldn't resist running her fingers over his lightly tanned torso. He was every bit as beautiful as she imagined he would be, and she was certain that she would never feel this way about anyone but him. She needed him, now, in a way that she didn't currently understand. She'd never _wanted_ anyone so badly in all her life - it frightened her, and she shivered when she felt his hand trailing along her side, gently tugging her shirt along in it's wake. They took their time, then, seizing the opportunity to explore each other before they shed the remainder of their clothing.

He gently stroked her and whispered soft, comforting words of affection in her ear while he slid in to her. Susanne bit her lip at the brief pain, and he kissed her cheeks, promising that it would get better. The sting subsided, and her eyes fluttered closed when he pulled out again and thrust forward, deeper than before. She gasped in surprise at the modest wave of pleasure, a tiny taste of what it could - _would?_- be like, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, then, her fingertips digging in to his back - a silent plea for him to continue. Again, and again, he moved over her, kissing her, breathing her name, making the most delicious sounds that she'd ever heard, and with each thrust, the pleasure she'd tasted increased until she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. It built relentlessly to a crescendo, and Susanne moaned in ecstasy as the fire in her belly burst and spread throughout her entire body, making her toes curl.

She clung to him while she recovered, trying to catch her breath, giving him a chaste kiss, which he returned before he laid out next to her. She smiled, brushing his hair back off his forehead, and then they lay facing each other, side by side, hand in hand, and Susanne simply stared at him until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

**TRANSLATION!  
1. "Keep quiet, or I'll slit your throat!"  
2. "Good, my beauty - "  
3. "- he was in our way, but I saw him yell at you - he shouldn't yell at you - he doesn't care about you, not like I do. I see how you look at me, my beauty."**

**(blushes) that was my first time writing a semi-sex scene. lmao did I do okay? did I fail epically? (is scared)**


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